Black Demon of the Leaf
by MerhppDerhpp
Summary: She was a citizen of the fictional Konohagakure, member of a clan that shouldn't exist and an adult mind in the body of a child that possessed unusual traits. She wasn't good nor was she innocent, but can Konohagakure redeem her or lead her further down the path of corruption? SI/Dark OC. Semi-AU. Rewrite of I'm a What? DISCONTINUED. Being rewritten.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Chapter one; REVISED. Black Demon of the Leaf is the rewritten version of 'I'm a What?'. Beta: Senior Coq-on-face the Third.

* * *

When you had biological family that couldn't give two shits about you, that they even allowed you to mingle with the common street gangs that used kids for various reasons, you learned to not care about people. You learned to not to care about anyone except yourself.

I grew up, spending more time outside with the guys on the street that smelled horrible, dressed horrible and were horrible people in general than I did with my own family. I told myself over and over again that it didn't bother me, that the sight of other families being happy never fazed me. I had siblings, whom I never got along with. Our parents didn't care about them either, we were all a source of money for them. They were all brothers, each so different from the other.

These men that I hung out with more than my own family were despicable men; rapists, murderers, paedophiles, arsonists, etc. They taught me that trusting people was a bad idea. I learned that the only way to protect yourself was to either overpower, outsmart or outlive them.

I turned out to be no better than them. I was corrupted.

And the thing was… I didn't care. In fact, the whole process of murder and torture allowed me to experience the most fun I had ever felt in my life; it allowed me to feel as though, for a fleeting moment, that I was superior in the way that I held someone's life in my own hands, that their pain was either prevented or caused by my own whim.

The neighbourhood we lived in was poor, the police as bad as the criminals they were meant to arrest. It was no wonder how so many of us despicable beings walked around, free to do as we wished. Not that I cared about the injustice of it all, it only worked in my favour.

The one time I had by chance seen one of my brothers, I had thrown away my own life to save his; to whom I hadn't spoken to in years. Heroic, right? Ha, no. The only reason I wanted to save him from that fucker that tried to kill him was so that I could kill him myself.

Shit, there was only like two brothers that remained in my family and he was one of them. I hadn't had the chance to see what it was like to murder one of them. Our parents had gone and left town as soon as we were of age, the bastards.

But no, my fantasy of seeing my own brother die by my hand was merely an impossible dream that was ripped from me as the dirty blade embedded itself in my ribcage. Pain and anger coursed through me as I staggered back, only barely seeing the sudden and swift attack from my brother, effectively cutting the offender's throat.

I collided painfully against the wall, coughing violently as my wound worsened. My brother had apparently kneeled in front of me, his hands cupped under my chin so that he could lift my face up and look into his cold, black eyes.

Except they weren't cold. There was an emotion that I wasn't used to. "Why?" he murmured. His voice was foreign. The tone in his voice too soft. I coughed again, bubbling laughter filling me.

"S-So I could kill you m-myself, f-fucker!" I snickered through painful wracks of pain. I was fading fast. It was my own fault, momentarily forgetting my life lessons for the opportunity to pry my prey away from another predator.

His eyes softened immediately, something that would've caused my heart to constrict, if I didn't think it was from the punctured lung. "You were always so stupid." he muttered, lightly touching my wound and causing me to wince. "You're going to die because of this, you know."

And that was the reason I hated him. Always pointing out my mistakes, the mistake of my being. With all the strength I had left, I spat blood mixed with saliva into his face, snarling lightly before my world faded to black.

* * *

I didn't know what I expected when death came and took my pitiful life, but the unending darkness that left me with my own thoughts was not what I expected in the least. I wondered if I would see the 'light' anytime soon or some shit like that. Contemplated if God was real and if I would be taken to Hell or Heaven. Of course, I knew where I would be going.

But despite my thoughts, the unending darkness receded and I was greeted by the painfully blinding light that made me cry shrilly. I'll spare the details of such a horrifying event where I heard voices, felt cold and like I was covered in fucking mucus, tiny and pitifully helpless whilst this horrible lighting was surely going to make me blind.

I was a newborn.

Yes, indeed. Reincarnation worked. Yes, I was a newborn, unable to control my limbs, bladder and basically everything apart from my whirling thoughts.

One of the ups to this whole event was the fact that the language was so painfully familiar to me that I was happy for small blessings as such. Japanese was already a difficult language, what with the fucking kanji and all, it would be too much for my brain to have to handle two separate languages. As much as I would've loved to say that I was smart enough to handle any and everything, that would be a blatant lie.

The second of the ups were my new parents. Cynical being that I was, I was sorely suspicious of the two for a good amount of time. When my eyes didn't just take in lights and actually took in shapes and colours as they were, I studied my new parents with an uncomfortable intensity.

Kuroi, as I had found out, was a naturally tanned man that apparently liked to cosplay; with dark black-brown eyes that were soft and laid-back. His black hair was a wonder, with the way it was gravity-defying and spiked up in impossible ways. There were dark markings under his eyes that were rather like eye bags, making him look fatigued and yet it didn't seem to detract from his overall handsome appearance. He spoke in soft drawls and enjoyed teasing his wife. I rarely saw him, but as much as some part of me disliked it, whenever I did there was something pleasant that bubbled within me.

Kuroi's wife and my mother, Aonami, had long and silky black hair with lightly tanned skin that was caused from too much sun; her eyes were the epitome of emeralds, shining brightly even when the sun wasn't there to make it look any brighter. They were unbelievably expressive, able to tell entire sentences with a single look. The affection she had for both Kuroi and I made me feel horribly awkward. I was uncomfortable with the foreign look yet strangely warmed and it confused me.

Our home was a two storey one, I was located at the end of the second floor. I was there most of the time, finding the large window beside my crib the perfect view to stare out of as I contemplated my current situation.

When I wasn't relearning basic motor skills and injuring myself to that point that I would reflexively start to cry (because that shit hurt!), I asked the moon why I was reborn. What had I done to deserve reincarnation of all things? I rather expected being burned in the fiery depths of Hell than being reborn as an infant with my memories fully intact.

I only felt guilty a handful of times, when I was younger and was still learning the ropes of my criminal life. I didn't like the feeling then and I didn't like it now, that shitty feeling of guilt as I thought about the strangely loving parents that I had been deprived of in my previous life.

They saw their innocent little baby, showering her with love and affection. They had no idea that their child was a fucked up murderer, how could they? However, I knew. It shouldn't have affected me so much. I shouldn't have felt this constricting pull of my tiny little heart. I should've been happy that I was to start anew with a loving family, lived the life that I formerly wanted as a child where I could be somewhat semi-normal.

But I wasn't. The simple fact of it was that I had grown to like my old life, that I had even grown to love it. Then it had to end abruptly due to stupid lack of forethought on my part and I was forced to live again. I felt guilty that I missed that horrible existence of a past life when I had two great parents right here.

Enough of that, though. The more interesting knowledge of this all was when I found out that my new father was in fact, not a cosplayer of Naruto ANBU. Well, not when the Hokage mountain was staring at me so blatantly in the face that I wouldn't have been able to deny its existence.

No, the more I looked around I had realised that yes, I was in an anime that I had obsessively watched since it was released as it was one of my only childish loves. Yes, I did indeed wonder about the logic of it all, why I was reborn here of all places.

Mist, dammit. They couldn't have put me in goddamn, motherfucking Mist. That beautiful village that was like a hardcore version of my own neighbourhood. But alas, my fantasies upon accepting that I was in an anime were shattered.

The months passed as I continued to wonder about it all, timelines and plots as all who would miraculously end up in an anime would. Also thought about all the chakra and fancy shit that was relevant to Naruto. Whatever chakra I felt was a pitiful excuse of a thing, but it was there. I decided not to attempt to use it yet because I would rather not die again and then end up in some completely normal and happy anime that wouldn't allow for legal murder.

Most of my time was really spent reading. Aonami was an almost obsessive collector of various scrolls and books, somehow even procuring what she had told me to be a few secret scrolls from broken clans. As much as I loved to be a terrible person in general, reading was also a good past time. It allowed for my overall shitty reality to become a mere fantasy as I was lost in the words of a book.

When I was reminded that I needed to establish where in the timeline I was, I toddled my way up to Aonami. "Maaa." I called lazily, crawling onto the couch she sat on. Her book was put down as her attention was now fully focused on me. "Hokage?" I asked, pointing to the book on the ground where I had been sitting.

Her pools of emerald lit up as something akin to pride and eagerness swam in them. I was bombarded by this emotion that it was almost suffocating me. "What about the Hokage, Kuroki-chan?" she asked, her voice soft as a smile graced her rosy lips.

I suppose I had forgotten to establish my new name in this world. My name was Taidana Kuroki. For a loving father, you'd think that his choice of names for his first child would implicate that he hated me from the start, however it was apparently a clan thing to name members of the Taidana with 'Kuro' or at the very least 'Ku'. It was probably just a thing amongst ninjas to name your child something intimidating like 'Black Demon'. Strange as it was, I was rather partial to it. Aonami had begrudgingly accepted it since he had won a bet from long ago about naming their children.

Yes, I am from a clan. More about that later.

"Who?" I asked, shifting away from her hands as they had a habit of running themselves through my hair and making me fall asleep. Sorcery, I say.

"The current Hokage is Namikaze Minato. He's the youngest Hokage of all four Hokages in existence!" she answered, unperturbed by my shiftiness. Eventually, she caused an unnatural giggle to escape me as she nuzzled me affectionately. I was both delighted and horrified by this amount of affection. It was an overload of fluffiness that disgusted me.

With Minato being the current Hokage, I could only wait until he died on the day the entire village is attacked by a giant, rabid, Uchiha-controlled fox and hope I didn't die by a stray tail. That would be unfortunate and set in a deep hatred for foxes.

Nothing of serious importance really happened in the following year or so, so I had turned two without many hiccups. I was mostly improving myself as a toddler, establishing my future title as a prodigy as I had every plan to become a ninja early and murder something. The two years of having loving and affectionate parents was pleasant, however my urges for bloodshed had never left me; in fact these obvious displays of emotion were fuelling my desire. It was smothering me.

It wasn't until I was three when the Kyuubi attacked. The foul, terrifying chakra that brought fear into the hearts of the villagers within Konoha… had caused me to feel fascinated at how much hate would be needed to be able to so easily project and almost consume those surrounding it. It was primal and hating.

Then I realised that my new parents that I had slowly begun to care for were now were out there and could actually die from some stray tail. Oh, how I hated how this… emotion I could only call worry gnawed at me, made me anxious and restless whilst also pissing me off because I didn't want to feel this.

However, my worry finally won out and I flew out the door, running as fast as my pathetic little legs could take me towards the giant fox that wreaked havoc in one direction.

The various ninjas ignored me as I frantically tried to find my new parents, gasping suddenly as my father appeared out of nowhere and then scooped me up into his arms. I could barely hear him over the deafening roar of the fox, my eyes glued to its magnificent form.

Soon, Aonami found us, dressed in ninja gear and face the most serious I'd ever seen. She was a retired ninja, since she felt that she would rather be there for her child rather than continue to go on missions and then die, leaving her only child alone and with a father who was enlisted in ANBU. We left.

It wasn't like they could really do much, not with that barrier or whatever there. It seemed like they didn't want to stick around with me there, but they didn't go back when we returned home.

That night, it occurred to me that they had somehow seeped their way into my dark little heart, entangling themselves and forcing me to care for their well being. I was pissed and frustrated at my own idiocy, however, it was done. These people were my parents… parents that actually cared. It hurt so bad to think about what it would be like to lose them. I didn't like caring about people.

Other than that, I realised that I was three years older than Naruto and some of the other shits. What was I going to do about the plot now that I knew? Change it for the better, save people for the better and be heroic?

For the better, my ass. I wasn't heroic either, I was just some lucky or unlucky scum of a being to be reincarnated into an anime where murder happened to be an overly familiar concept and it came with superhuman capabilities too; it was a dream. I had to admit that there were some characters whose deaths impacted me greatly, however most of them were Akatsuki. I really didn't see how I would be able to do shit for them.

Moving on from that, Kuroi was fine, even approving of my wish to start training early. Hell, even Aonami was happy. I showed promise and untapped potential, as they said. The praise caused my selfish little heart to swell and then deflate as I realised that I wasn't worth the praise.

I'd barely bothered with maintaining a childish façade, the entire mask breaking shortly after its construction as it was both draining and annoying. I glared naturally, it felt unnatural and weird to have some weird, happy smile plastered on my face every hour of the day.

That broken and long-dead clan that I was from? Yeah, Kuroi had decided to elaborate it… I'm not divulging until later. Why? Because I can.

But yes, most of my new little childhood was occupied with studying, training and sleeping. Chakra was such a strange and draining thing that sleep occurred often. Within those hours of unconsciousness, I was back in my old world, scolded and laughed at for the attachments I had unfortunately made.

At one point, Kuroi decided it was a good time to give me weights in the form of dark, stretchy cloth that wrapped around various parts of the body. They felt like second skin, really, but the moment my father had put a bit of chakra into the strange material, I immediately felt weighed down by the new chakra that was now trapped to cause me hell.

Only a tiny smidgeon, he had said. I was once again reminded of my pathetic toddler body that was straining under the weight of a smidgeon of chakra.

Enough of that, though. It was by chance that I stumbled into a random mirror that obviously belonged to my mother, and being the curious little shit I was, I decided to take a look at this new appearance of mine.

I had the same tan skin as Kuroi, same silky black hair as Aonami. My hair also defied gravity, spikes of hair directing themselves automatically to the right of my head. It was disorienting in a way, they would simply go back into place when I tried to push the spikes down. Luckily for me, my hair was naturally trained to stay out of my face and simply frame it instead.

There was a black mark on my left cheek that started from my eye to near my jawline, shaped like an elongated fang marking. It was permanent apparently, as no amount of rubbing did anything. There was also a mole under the corner of my right eye, with another situated right in the middle of my throat.

Intentionally, I had left my eyes for last, as they were by far the most intriguing and strangely disturbing feature of my entire appearance. They were a black-brown, the same as my father, however… my eyes were not unlike those of a dead man's. Glazed over and lifeless, the sun made them shine a little more, but overall the look of my eyes were seriously too creepy.

How were these two even able to look at me and still find it in their hearts to love me? Fuck, if I saw a child with eyes like mine, I would've been long gone. That shit wasn't natural. Neither was the whole reincarnation into an anime, but hell.

They really loved me… huh? I was still their child. It was just so strange how two people who murdered for a living (Aonami having retired) were able to love so much and my former parents just seemed so incapable of it. If you didn't count them loving each other. They were fucking gross, banging with no care of their children being around. No wonder they had so many of us when they didn't give a fuck.

That was in the past though. All in the past. Kuroi didn't increase my weights until a month or so later, when I had gotten used to the additional weight. There was really no point in having weights if you didn't increase them over time, after all.

As a little toddler, I rarely left the house. I didn't really have much reason to, since I was preoccupied with other things like learning katas that Kuroi taught me. When I saw him training one morning, when he was free, I saw how swift and graceful his movements were, the style he used was reminiscent of gymnastic boxing.

When he was gone, Aonami was left with me. She was jounin-level, so she was easily able to help me with both my academics and my physical training. Being a toddler was really a bitch, not being able to write properly even though you knew what to write and how.

I would often stay in my room, the light rarely on unless I was studying. The darkness was my friend, swallowing me up and allowing me to simply… be. My mind would often wander as I stared at the moon, idly wondering if the people I'd known missed me. Shit, they were probably dead too.

The guilt once again consumed me, this was so much more than I could've ever asked for. It was great, loving parents, a popular occupation that included murder, being in a world that was fiction until it was not. Yet I felt like I belonged in my old world more. I was scum compared to Aonami and Kuroi. They… didn't deserve to have me as their child. I probably took the original Kuroki's place with my own… soul. A bitter sound left my throat and I realised it was a sob.

And the moments where I would cry in front of the moon alone, would continue on. The cry then soon turned into maniacal laughter as the two sides of me fought against each other. The ludicrous humanity that I had against the pissed off inhumanity. One part of me was guilt-consumed, the other was screaming about how it was such a great opportunity, fuck everything else. It was confusing and irritating, yet it continued.

I didn't like feeling. I had laughed in the faces of people who probably were feeling exactly like this, told them they were weak pussies and to man the fuck up. There was always one kid that would be dragged into my world unwillingly, forced to do despicable things that they hated in return of not being one of their victims. Emotions made you weak. Hesitation would get you killed.

I became more reserved around my new parents after that. I couldn't deal with the feeling of being on a high when I was with them and then guilt stabbing at me randomly, with one or both of them blatantly concerned for me. God, it was terrible.

Staring at the mirror, I didn't have the shitty haircut; the white and scarred skin; cold eyes of light brown. I had Kuroki's face. I was Kuroki. Taidana Kuroki.

I didn't deserve this, but… wouldn't it be a terrible waste to let myself wallow in guilt and pathetic emotions instead of becoming a ninja? I could become an actual ninja with inhuman capabilities. What sane moron wouldn't want this? Or maybe I was in the minority.

My reflection grinned, looking horribly unnerving on this dead-eyed child face.

Aonami and Kuroi were blessings to me, helping me in this world and loving me. Whilst I would distance myself emotionally from them, that didn't change the fact that I was demonically possessive… or protective. Either way. My heart still soared when they would praise me. Because I was the one who solved with problem or properly pulled off a kata. It was me and no one else.

I had left the house together with Aonami one time. It was my first real time going outside into Konoha where I could walk, and I didn't realise just how big the village was. We went to the park, where there were other children.

A growl was the first thing that left my mouth when a child had run up to my mother, pulling lightly at her skirt and complimenting her or some shit. The child jumped, finally seeing me beside her and I do remember that my face was quite the sight.

When they ran off and cried to their own mother, I laughed. Really, I laughed to the point that my stomach hurt and needed Aonami to support me.

After that, I sat on a swing. Cloud watching wasn't too bad actually, didn't really have time to before, but it was actually relaxing. None of the other children wanted to go near me, my eyes and apparently even my different skin tone had scared them off. Not that I minded, I in fact welcomed it. I disliked children with a passion.

"There's something wrong with your daughter's eyes." one woman had 'whispered' to my mother.

I really didn't care, but I was downright shocked to see that Aonami was furious. She appeared ten times more intimidating in the matter of seconds, the infamous 'mama bear' mode I heard so much about was on.

That day, I realised that my mother was actually really fucking terrifying when she wanted to be.

* * *

A few weeks before my birthday, I was finally able to release a small amount of chakra from my hands. The amount was honestly pathetic compared to what Kuroi and Aonami could do, but hell I at least did it.

That shit was really not easy. The amount of concentration that was needed. First, locating your chakra required concentration. That was easy for me, since I never had chakra before. Being able to stay tuned to it wasn't too difficult. However, moving it required tonnes of concentration from me; it was like trying to push a giant boulder. Releasing it through the tenketsu in your hands was even more hell.

But shit, I had done it in the span of a few months. It was a pathetic amount, but I still cheered for myself. It was horrifying to know that children without my mental advantage were able to do this with ease. Fuck.

This world was messed up.

Anyway though, I was getting somewhere at least. My chakra control was far, far from perfect; far from even being satisfactory I would say, but Kuroi had mentioned that I would only get better with more practice since I wasn't even four yet and most children my age wouldn't have even been able to do it.

In all honesty, I enjoyed taijutsu most. Close combat was always my specialty. This body was practically built for taijutsu, having the genes of two highly skilled ninjas. I highly doubted that genjutsu would be pivotal in my style, ninjutsu as well. As cool as both were, I felt more comfortable with something I knew, even if most of these stances katas were foreign to me.

Other than that, Kuroi made me get ear piercings. Three lobe piercings and four helix piercings on both ears. They didn't really hurt, but most of all I was simply curious. He then showed me his own piercings, telling me that it was something the Taidana clan did. The three lobe piercings that were black studs, going from largest to smallest. The helix piercings were small black hoops. I honestly couldn't feel them at all, as if I was wearing normal earrings.

* * *

On the day of my fourth birthday, I was surprised to see that Inuzuka Tsume and Kiba had shown up. I really didn't expect anyone to show up, since apparently Kuroi didn't have any other family and Aonami's lived in Kirigakure.

I openly stared as Aonami and Tsume greeted each other loudly and happily, hugging and slapping each other roughly. They were like sisters, really rough, tomboyish sisters. I was kind of surprised, Aonami looked so serene and acted so motherly that it was kind of strange to see a whole new side of her.

Apparently Hana couldn't make it because she was at the academy and Kuromaru was having a day off. That left Kiba, who was surprisingly cute and quiet at the age of one. I held him, though I felt wholly uncomfortable with it for a good hour just waiting for him to start screaming or something that would piss me off.

He had those signature red markings of the Inuzuka, and I had to wonder if it was permanently painted on or they were born with it. Maybe it's Maybelline.

Tsume gave me a birthday present in the form of a puppy with a silver coat and ice-coloured eyes. It looked somewhat like a husky and a wolf mixture, I wasn't sure. However, I was sure that I fell in love with it. I dislike people, but I always loved animals. He showered me with affection the moment he was in my arms, being all adorable and fluffy and goddamn it was too much!

I would kill someone before they could take this furball away from me.

"What are you going to name him, Kuroki-chan?" Aonami asked with a smile, watching as I sat on the couch, playing with the puppy and allowing Kiba to pet him.

"I'll name him Shiruba." I replied, turning to the two women. I looked at Tsume, grinning a little. "Thanks for the present."

The Inuzuka head laughed. "No problem, kid." she turned her attention to Aonami, once again slapping the woman on the back. It looked like there was a lot of force behind it, but Aonami didn't even so much as flinch. "Hey Nami, your brat speaks pretty damn well for her age." she commented, watching as the Taidana woman's face lit up with pride.

"Oh, I know! My Kuroki-chan is such a little genius! She's already begun her ninja training, just a few weeks ago she was able to release chakra through her hands, and-" and I had tuned out her bragging of my accomplishments.

There was only so much praise I could handle.

I blinked when Kiba grabbed onto my hand, looking up at me with wide eyes. He grinned as cutely as a baby would and then garbled out some nonsense that still sounded cute. My face morphed into a scowl as I was disgusted with myself for finding him cute. This world was changing me. I couldn't wait to become a ninja.

His mother chuckled and had told me that Kiba seemed to have taken a liking to me. Before they left, she said they would be back again.

I grinned crookedly when not even a minute after Tsume had left, Kuroi had coincidentally showed up as if he was avoiding her presence. Aonami frowned at her husband as the man smirked at her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close. Her expression didn't change. "You shouldn't be avoiding my best friend, Kuroi." she chided him, automatically kissing him back when he kissed her.

"I would never avoid that deranged woman, Nami." he chuckled, releasing her and stepping back to dodge the hit aimed at him. He turned to me, picking me up as I held Shiruba in my arms. "Happy birthday, my little girl."

My crooked grin was unable to be held back as he said those words to me. "Thank you. Aunt Tsume gave me Shiruba for my birthday," I told him as I held up the puppy, "he's unbelievably cute."

There was a small smile on his face. "He is, isn't he? Shiruba, hm?" when I nodded, he opened his mouth to say something else. "I got you something as well." he told me, setting me on the counter of the kitchen to reach for something behind him. Kuroi pulled out a tanto with a black hilt.

It was apparently an Osoraku-type tanto, with a really sharp point that was over half the blade's length. It was about… twenty-five centimeters in length, so to me it looked like a mini-katana or something.

Aonami's eyes widened as I excitedly grabbed it, examining the beautiful weapon whilst Shiruba sat beside me, curiously looking at it.

"Are you sure that it's a good idea to give her such a sharp weapon?" she asked with a tone of concern, turning to her husband who shrugged nonchalantly. Her face shifted to annoyance.

"She said she wanted to learn kenjutsu, so I figured a tanto would be a good start before she gets her own katana or something similar." Kuroi explained casually, smiling slightly at me as I was sure he could see my obvious excitement.

His wife stared at him. "She's four, Kuroi. Four. I know she's been doing good with her training, but don't you think you're going a bit too fast? Shouldn't we wait until a little later?"

I had sheathed the tanto as their conversation continued, petting Shiruba as I wondered why they liked to talk as if I wasn't around to hear them.

"She's fine, Nami." Kuroi sighed. "She's four, never touched a tanto in her life before now and not only did she unsheathe it without cutting herself, she also sheathed it. Kuroki's intelligent, far more intelligent than I expected and I want her to learn all she can at her young and malleable age. She'll be a great ninja, I know it."

Aonami sighed. "I just feel like we're forcing her to grow up too fast. She has no friends because the children all think that her eyes are scary and the mothers won't let them befriend her even if they wanted to."

"I don't really care." I interrupted their conversation, blinking as they both turned their eyes to me. "I want to be a ninja, I want to learn all I can now. I don't really want friends either. I have you two, and Shiruba now." the small dog yipped as he heard his name. I smiled.

Kuroi ruffled my hair as Aonami hugged me, because apparently I pulled at their heartstrings or some shit. Still, it was… nice.

"You're such a wonderful child, Kuroki-chan. We're so proud to have you as our daughter." my mother praised me, a beaming smile on her face.

I blinked rapidly as I felt my eyes beginning to water.

* * *

Ah, scars. How I did not expect to get you back so soon. I had officially gotten two new scars.

When Aonami heard of it, I had to hide behind the couch because the sight of such a thing was… well, fucking terrifying. My respect soared to new heights when Kuroi merely stood there and took it, then when she was done, he hugged her and soothed her like one would do with a child. It was amazing that it worked.

There was one scar above my left eyebrow and another one on the right side of my neck. Luckily they were only shallow. I got them from the tanto, accidentally tripping and being an idiot. Man, that thing was seriously sharp. I honestly thought that Kuroi himself was a little messed up to think that a child would be safe with a weapon, no matter how intelligent they seemed to be.

Because I pretty much sucked at it and the tanto was admittedly a little too heavy for me to properly handle it, we had decided that physical conditioning was what I should focus on. I had to work on my speed, strength and stamina. Overall, that would then help me improve with taijutsu.

There was a schedule for me that I had to follow.

At five in the morning I would meditate for an hour, then I would practice katas and do physical exercises like sit ups for two; then run around the block as Kuroi said I was allowed to do, with a stopwatch he had given me so that I could time myself every time for one hour. I would then eat breakfast, take a shower and work on my chakra control until noon. Then I took a nap for about three hours before waking up and getting something to eat before working on all these books Aonami wanted me to study from. She had a basement full of books and scrolls with their condition rather pristine-looking. Then I'd eat dinner and go to bed. Repeat.

Shiruba seemed to enjoy running with me, even joining me in my morning katas and sometimes pretending to be an enemy. I shouldn't have been surprised by his high intelligence since Inuzuka dogs were rather smart, or so I believed. I had wondered if Shiruba would be able to talk like Kuromaru.

Over time, as I practised more with the tanto and weapons in general, I had gained a few more insignificant scars that wouldn't have scarred me if I wasn't a four-year-old with admittedly soft skin.

Most of my time was spent doing that same thing, so the most significant event was really when Kuroi informed me that I should enroll in the academy early. I wasn't sure anymore, because if I did, I would probably graduate early and then become a genin, which would allow me to kill someone even quicker, but I felt like I wasn't ready to either. It didn't take skill to be able to stab someone.

There was also the whole plot that I had conveniently forgotten about. Frankly, I didn't really give a shit about the Hyuuga affair or the Uchiha massacre, as bad as that sounds. I found no reason to help them other than for the sake of being moral and not wanting people to die and have bad pasts. I doubt I could do anything either, train to be strong and hope I can take on Uchiha Itachi and Tobi? Ahahahaha! Ludicrous. I was not going to throw away this new life for the sake of people whom I still considered to be characters.

I wasn't going to do anything but better myself. Maybe if there was a reason, I don't know, like my parents being associated to one of the clans. Really couldn't do shit about the Hyuuga affair, so fuck those guys. But the Uchihas… it's too complicated. Fuck it, later.

Those guys were on their own.

* * *

**A/N: **Reviews are love. Reviews are life. It's never ogre.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Chapter two; REVISED.

* * *

Despite the fact that the local children hated my presence, I still went to the park with my mother one day. As I usually did whenever we went to the park, I sat at the swings. Trips to the park were like a break from my rather busy schedule, so I would cloud watch and take in the fresh air.

But that particular day, something relatively strange happened; my eyes decided to stop functioning properly. I suddenly felt a lot of pain in my eyes, slapping my hands to them roughly. Then, when I opened my eyes, all I could see were horribly blurred images and a blob that mildly resembled my mother racing towards me. I panicked, because really, that shit was unexpected.

I was taken to the hospital with my hysterical mother in tow, demanding for someone to help me. Kuroi had shown up only half an hour later, to which he then calmly and somehow threateningly asked the doctor to tell him what was wrong and how it could be fixed. I would've laughed at how my parents were ganging up on the poor doctor if it wasn't for me being the victim.

Apparently, the optic nerves in my eyes had suddenly shut off like a switch or something. Strangely, they said that there wasn't any permanent damage and that my eyes would heal in about… two years. Two years of being blind, essentially. If I opened my eyes, it hurt and then it hurt even more when I looked at the sun or bright lights in general. They offered to do surgery on my eyes so that I wouldn't have to be blind for two years, but Kuroi seemed to think that this was a good thing to utilise.

I was curious, so he explained that the disadvantage of being blind could become an advantage with learning to use my other senses. To hear, smell, sense and concentrate at an improved rate. It would further propel my abilities to new heights.

After my initial irritation at being unable to use my eyes, I had agreed. I was told that I wouldn't be able to enroll into the academy until I was eight or nine, since I had to train my senses and then there was the recovery years, something they weren't sure about how long it would take. I was five when this occurred, so I would've had to enter the academy that year, but luckily I didn't have to now. I was honestly dreading being with other children and then having to listen to drivel I already knew. Aonami was thorough.

The doctor put some liquid in my eyes that would apparently allow my eyes to heal and force the eyelids not to stick to them. It was meant to build up and basically create a thin barrier so I wouldn't feel pain when I looked at bright lights. I was still curious as to how they managed to calculate how long I'd be blind for, asking as they put a cloth around my eyes to block out the light. They went on to explain, however it all sounded like medical jargon that I soon lost interest in.

Kuroi was already trained to use his other senses, something I wasn't surprised at considering his ANBU rank. He knew a tonne of exercises that while at times annoying and irritating, helped me improve immensely. However, I won't go into great detail about it all since it's really boring to recount.

Sensing chakra was actually one of the easier things that I could do, once I had concentrated enough to ignore my own chakra and focus on others. It was a trippy experience, what with how each person's chakra was a colour and reminded me of a certain object or other, like rain or grass; I could see the chakra form into the shapes of their owners' bodies, making it easier to tilt my head up to people's faces as if I was actually looking at them.

Unfortunately, my house didn't have chakra, and none of the things in it really did either. I bumped into just about everything, which was an absolute bitch I must say. Shiruba had chakra, so I could walk around his energetic body that was growing at an alarming rate, but those walls or the random chair I could not. Kuroi had told me that I should just deal with it and I was tempted to swear at him, however the colourful words remained within my mind.

So, most of my time was spent adjusting to the unseeing life. I absentmindedly wondered if my eyes looked even more dead than they usually did, which I would find creepy if I could actually see myself in the mirror.

Something interesting did happen eventually; Hatake Kakashi visited my house. He came to look after me (and Shiruba) upon Kuroi's request since he had a mission and Aonami was also out. At this point in time, the silver-haired ninja was about… sixteen, which meant that he was still an ANBU captain himself. His chakra was… cloudy, full of sorrow and kind of empty. Hell, I could even subtly smell the depression off him, as strange as that sounded.

The Inuzuka clan were apparently able to teach people how to make their noses as sensitive as their own, able to smell emotions as weird and illogical as that seemed. However, my nose would never be as good as some of the best of the Inuzukas.

Back to Kakashi though, Kuroi knew him because they were both ANBU captains and had even worked together sometimes. My father was eleven years older and also held the rank for longer, making Kuroi Kakashi's senior technically even though they held the same rank. It was kind of… suffocating to be in his presence, sitting at the couch and not doing much else. He was uncomfortable, by the way his chakra felt and the rigid tone in his voice. The teenager was somewhat like a guinea pig to me, allowing me to take note of my improving senses.

Reading people by their tone of voice was beneficial, as I was able to tell when someone was lying or something similar. Aonami's pitch went higher when she lied or was angry, but Kuroi's voice seemed to always remain the same unless he was amused and it seeped into his voice.

The silver-haired teen was quiet to say the least, only speaking when I asked him something. I could feel him relax minutely when I was able to get something from the fridge or do simple things that would be difficult when blind by myself. Then he would be alert whenever I bumped into something, since I had not yet perfected the art of not walking into shit. He was probably afraid I would cry or something, which I didn't do. I was steadily building up my pain tolerance, thank god or something.

He was a reminder of the people I'd seen before; people who were broken. They lost something precious to them, breaking them and causing them to become aloof and cold or something similar. Really, it was common.

Shiruba was in my lap, napping as I sat on one end of the couch with the ANBU captain at the other. His discomfort was almost tangible, as I could see his grey-coloured chakra form trying to distance himself from me without physically getting up and moving away. My voice was soft as I spoke to him.

"Kakashi?" I voiced his name, tilting my head in his direction. In all honesty, I found honorifics annoying. No one referred to each other with honorifics in my past life because we were all rude and/or familiar with each other that it wasn't a common thing. You could spot the 'innocents' among the 'corrupt' just by their use of an honorific. I was half-expecting him to admonish me for my lack of it.

"…Yes?" he replied hesitantly, providing me with his reluctant attention.

"I won't bite you, you know." I smiled slyly as I could sense the mild surprise. I didn't expect him to reply, so the ensuing silence wasn't surprising.

However, his reply was. "…What makes you think that I would think that?" he asked carefully, as if gauging my response.

Raising an eyebrow even though he probably wouldn't see it, I smiled. "Your chakra, your voice… hell, even your scent. It all tells me that you don't want to be here, you're uncomfortable and all. It's really disorienting to be able to smell emotions." I elaborated, adding the last sentence as a need to voice my opinion on the whole scent matter. I could tell that he was surprised. "Being at a visual disadvantage has its benefits, thankfully." I shrugged. "I'd feel much better if you'd relax a little, Kakashi. You don't have to speak or go out of your way to do something, but hopefully knowing that I'm not plotting your assassination will make you feel a little better."

I resumed with lovingly patting my silver-coated dog, who snuggled closer to me in his sleep as the teenager beside me processed my words.

"…Kuroi was right." he muttered, almost too quietly.

My ear twitched as I tilted my head, making it seem as if I was glancing at him. "About what?" I asked curiously.

There was a moment of silence before he made a response. "About you… you don't act like a normal child."

I smiled. "I'll take that as a compliment." I commented, allowing the silence to once again fill the room, however it was a lot less tense and uncomfortable. Since there wasn't much to do, I simply decided to practice on my chakra control until Aonami came back.

* * *

Progress during my first year of lacking eyesight was relatively good even though I could no longer read the books by myself and had to have them read to me. I would still get quizzed though, so it helped with my memory. I couldn't really practice with tools properly, for obvious reasons.

My main improvement would have to be my senses. It was crazy how I could track people by smell and chakra sensory alone, how I could hear people's footsteps and be able to pinpoint their location from that. The amount of concentration I needed for that allowed me to have an easier time with chakra control, which wasn't perfect by any means, but better and somewhat easier to work with it. That leaf exercise was harder than I had originally thought, even thinking of walking on walls, trees, water or whatever was foolish.

Unsurprisingly, not being able to see hindered my taijutsu training and stances. Of course the improved senses helped, but I was still learning to apply them into an actual fight, which was hard when your balance was preposterous. It was severely difficult to stay upright.

Tsume and Kiba came over regularly, with the former helping me sometimes with training (with Shiruba included) and the latter becoming rather attached to me. He even started to call me 'nee-chan', which surprised me. I met Hana a few times, who was a bit older than me. She was easy to talk to, though I had to admit that I didn't like how she first spoke to me like a child. Being in a child's body did not mean I was one by any means.

I could walk without bumping into things now, a strange sixth sense or something enabling me to move out of harm's way so a random pole or whatnot couldn't defeat me horribly. It still baffled me a little as to how and why I was to be blind for approximately two years and then somehow, miraculously get my eyesight back. The liquid in my eyes or whatever would help, I supposed, but I was curious as to why they only needed to put it in my eyes once. I cringed at the thought of entering the light again, I had become accustomed to the darkness and random chakra signatures of various colours.

Being bullied by children whenever I went out was a new experience. They liked to call me 'Dead Eyes', coming up with the theory that my eyes were ugly and cursed so they had to be covered up to protect other people. Frankly, I was amused until they decided to get physical. Hating someone for no reason was a waste of time, but I had decided to at least give them a reason.

I knocked out the 'leader' of the small group that had made it their duty to bully me, then proceeded to drag him to the nearest tree and throw him up there. Yes, that's all I did… okay, there was a satisfying crunch of bone around the area of his arm, but he'd live. I was not above hitting or hurting children, especially when they insulted my mother and expected me to just take that. Fuck no. Even if it was a child… I missed the violence. The feeling of being able to hold one's life in your hands and then crush it. The probably creepy smile I had on my face along with the maniacal laughter had most likely scared away the other children.

Having children now avoid me and treat me like the plague was nothing new, the news then spreading to their parents wasn't either. The bit where they had likened me to the 'demon' that Uzumaki Naruto, was a little surprising I had to admit. Amusing nonetheless, however it was only one child, whose parents were pissed but unable to say much to Aonami or Kuroi since they apparently had a fearsome reputation of their own.

Still though, I wasn't treated as badly as Naruto, I didn't think. Apparently he would get physically and verbally attacked, whereas I was simply looked at with contempt and mild fear, with whispered insults behind my back rather than to my face. It was mostly the civilians who were like that. The ones from clans didn't seem to have much of a problem with me, since I was Kuroi's daughter after all, as confusing as that was to me. The children were a bit iffy around me at first, but once they realised that I wouldn't randomly attempt to break their bones unless that insulted my family, they were good.

Shop clerks or owners were also fine, since I was a customer and I didn't have some kind of fox demon inside of me. I was just a kid with a tan complexion and a blindfold, basically.

This whole… thing had caused my deprived urges to swell and fight to break out, wanting to watch and cause the life to leave someone's eyes. Well, I never really did give a shit about people that I didn't have a relationship with, but I had almost forgotten why I wanted to be a ninja in the first place. However, I was fiercely protective of those I did have a relationship with. Simply insulting them made me furious, enough to actually assault them and hell, maybe even kill them. Of course, with my little body, I could hardly kill anyone; didn't stop me from trying though.

Aonami and Kuroi were starting to get the heat for… well, me being such a 'demonic little shit'. As furious as I was, I was also ashamed, something that I wholly disliked with a passion. I caused them trouble, and it pained me to know that. So… I reverted to the Narutoverse's killing intent.

It was such a beautiful, amazing, awesome and downright badass thing. I had no idea how it worked, logic just seemed so illogical here, but it did. All I had to do was… well, want to kill someone, which wasn't hard at all and somehow it was projected outwards and received by those around me, picturing horrible scenes in their heads that had them cowering like helpless children. Still, my main problem was that it was kind of hard to… stop it, especially when I was angry. However in the end I had decided to not use it all the time, since it would still be a bother to my parents.

Well, Tsume had once told me that I had gained an infamous reputation, even being told to stay away from the Taidana family. I was shocked, as Aonami was present and I feared that she would be annoyed or disappointed in me. Obviously, Kuroi wasn't around when the head Inuzuka was.

To my surprise though, the woman let out a bark of laughter, ruffling my hair and saying I was a wild and smart kid. Aonami had even smiled, telling me that no matter what others thought of her family, she would always love me. No matter what. When Tsume had left and Kuroi was suddenly around, he agreed as Shiruba jumped up and down, joining in.

It hurt. It really hurt and I didn't know why.

* * *

My second year of being blind was… eventful. Horribly eventful. Aonami had twin boys named Kuroda and Kuroto on the 19th of June. I had barely noticed that Aonami was pregnant, since I was blind and I couldn't sense the two growing beings inside her. Whilst I did note her fluctuating mood and insatiable hunger since October, I had thought nothing of it. That was my mistake.

Kuroi had understandably quit ANBU and became a regular jounin, not willing to let Aonami look after the twins and somewhat me by herself. I didn't really need that much looking after, unless some occasional training lessons were part of being looked after. I could cook, since I practically raised myself in my former life and my mother was surprisingly lenient with me handling the 'dangerous' kitchen.

Whilst I was able to look after myself, I couldn't help but feel the childish jab of jealousy as I 'stared' from afar as my parents paid all their attention to the twins. I kept the killing intent within, repeatedly telling myself that killing them would only sadden my beloved parents and cause them to hate me. It was… selfish of me, but being selfish was a part of who I was.

Attempting to compartmentalise, I focused even more on my studies and training; which, by the way, was coming along smoothly. My taijutsu and sensory had greatly improved after I had adapted, my chakra control even being satisfactory. Shiruba often helped me with training, being my training buddy. Kuroi did help me out whenever he was free from missions or not helping out Aonami… I think he knew that I was rather disdainful of the twins and had allowed me to be exempt from caring care of them for the time being.

Kiba had turned four, celebrating his birthday at the Inuzuka compound and getting Akamaru from his mother. The Taidana family had been invited, so I had decided to give him a necklace that had a picture of Aonami, Tsume, himself, Shiruba and I in the Konoha symbol-shaped pendant. Obviously Kuroi was away as the Inuzuka woman was there, I still had to figure out why exactly he avoided her.

A few civilians who had been brave enough to approach me realised that I wasn't half-bad if they didn't piss me off, which was different from being irritated. Some children who were a tad smarter than some others were able to hold a conversation with me before their parents had scooped them up and away from me.

Anyway, I had to learn to throw weapons without using my eyes. The first time, I had managed to get a shuriken embedded in my arm and cause yet another scar. I was pissed off then, but it was merely an amusing memory now. I sucked terrifically, and Kuroi wanted me to be able to throw weapons with perfect accuracy by the time I was nine. Oh, the lovable fool.

It was with great luck and fortune that I had decided to go to a secluded training ground nearby my house, where I had met the infamous Uchiha Itachi. I was going through basic katas, then gradually making my way through to the more advanced ones. The taijutsu that Kuroi was teaching me was reminiscent to kick boxing with a different style and form, but familiar nonetheless.

I was doing that when I had felt the young nine-year-old's unfamiliar chakra signature. It was admittedly smaller since he was still a child, but there was a thrum of power within him that set me slightly on edge. Shiruba sat up from his spot under a nearby tree.

Stopping my movements, I tilted my head in his direction. "Who's there?" I asked, at the time unknowing of who it was.

The was a heartbeat of silence before the soft voice of a child made my ear twitch. "I am sorry to intrude on you. My name is Uchiha Itachi." he had apologised and introduced himself, sounding unlike a child and without much emotion that it had just added to the surprise I had when I realised it was indeed the same Itachi from the series.

"It's fine," I had finally said after thirty-seconds or so, "my name is Taidana Kuroki." I introduced myself with a small head nod. He moved closer until he was at least a metre away.

"It is nice to meet you," he responded, sounding as if he had said that line one too many times, "I was not expecting anyone to be here."

"I assume you train here often?"

"Yes."

"Ah. I didn't realise. Sorry." I apologised, though I lacked the sincere emotion in my voice.

His chakra outline shook its head. It was still a little disorienting to see people as coloured glowing forms moving about as normal, but I had gotten used to it after a while. "This training ground does not belong to me. You are free to be here just as much as I am."

Those impeccable manners were almost unnerving. I was lost in my thoughts for a moment before an idea struck me. "Hey, uh… would you mind if we trained together? I've never actually trained with anyone apart from my dad and Shiruba." he was already a genin, I still remembered that he was a prodigy who had scarily perfect aim so it was such a great coincidence that I had met him.

"Are you sure…?" he had asked with a mildly skeptical tone. I would guess that he was furrowing his eyebrows a bit, but all I saw was glowing chakra instead of a face.

I nodded. "You don't have to spar with me, I'm more than sure that I would lose. I would really appreciate some help with throwing weapons and all that, if you had the time to spare." contrary to popular belief, I wasn't always swearing and emitting killing intent.

When he agreed, I had grinned.

Our time spent together was helpful and surprisingly fun. Although Shiruba and I were taught to be able to communicate to each other with the help of the Inuzuka, it was a little difficult to concentrate compared to Itachi's soft voice. Though he was technically younger than me, I felt as though we had some sort of… understanding between each other. We knew who the other was by reputation only (his obviously more important and more acknowledged), though not once did we mention it. He didn't even question my blindness either, which was a relief. It was troublesome trying to repeat what was wrong with my eyes. I mean, I barely knew myself.

When he said he had to go, we bid each other farewell with the promise to see one another again. Calling Shiruba to my side, the two of us made the trek back home. Itachi did help me improve a little with my aim, but I was still shit.

I realised that I hadn't mentioned that I now put my own chakra into my weights, which were like extra chakra reserves on top of being weights. It would come in handy once I was low on chakra and all I had to do was drain them to refill my reserves. It was brilliant. However, I couldn't really put too much in it at once, or I'd never get anywhere. It was going steady though.

Now, everyone remembers how the Uchiha clan were massacred and how I didn't give a shit about them. Itachi was the one who did it, so he would be fine. Sasuke, on the other hand, not so much. The thought of befriending him and hoping to change his mind about revenge sounded like utter bullshit to me. To be frank, I didn't care about team seven apart from possibly Kakashi.

My point to mentioning the Uchiha clan again was to point out that the head of the Uchiha clan had decided to invite the Taidana family over to their compound for dinner. Something about how even though the Taidana were basically scattered, they were still famous… or infamous and still treated somewhat like a clan by other clans.

Apparently the Taidana clan were able to bond with special spirits from the world in between this one and the next, another dimension. They were spirits that could only watch other worlds in silence, unable to do anything. This made most of them become deranged, sinking into madness from being deprived of their needs as they were seemingly once human as well.

Most of the clan members wouldn't reproduce unless they were bonded with their own spirit, because the being allowed their own bodies to become enhanced and then pass on those genes to their offspring along with having the child immediately bonded with their own spirit since birth. This method is basically what had destroyed the clan; the children would become corrupted at an earlier age due to their spirits, which then allowed the beings to possess their human partner. Others were forced to kill these children because they were a liability, though some got away and built on the infamy the clan had gained.

Only a few were free from corruption; wholly pure and unable to contain any darkness within themselves, allowing the children they bonded with to live on with a lower chance of being slaughtered like a rabid animal. Kuroi was born a 'pure' child. I was a 'free' child, born without a spirit immediately bonded to me since birth due to the fact that Kuroi no longer had his own spirit prior to his marriage to Aonami.

That didn't mean that I was free forever though, because the moment I was born, I had my own spirit looming over me, watching me and waiting to show itself to me and offer me this bond. I could reject it unlike some other clan members. It was a creepy thought, definitely, to know that there was some being watching me at all times. My… brothers more than likely had their own too, waiting in the other dimension.

I was digressing. Back onto the dinner with the main Uchiha family. I was confident that I wouldn't get attached to any of the family members, they barely showed up in the series.

On the day, I had spent some time with Kiba and Akamaru. I would've had to bring along Kuroda and Kuroto, but they were still too young to handle the kind of 'play time' Kiba and I were used to.

"Kuro-nee!" Kiba yelled excitedly as he jumped on my back, causing me to stagger and quickly adjust myself to the new weight and make sure he didn't fall off. He had this weird tendency to jump on my back whenever there was a chance.

"Kiba." I greeted back, wincing slightly as I tried to ignore the ringing in my ear. The downside to heightened senses was that sometimes they were a bit too sensitive. Shiruba and Akamaru jumped and barked at each other in greeting by my feet.

"Play ninja with me!" he demanded loudly in my ear, causing me to flinch and scowl. Kiba immediately realised his mistake, a sheepish sound escaping him as I just knew he was scratching his head awkwardly. "Oops, sorry Kuro-nee. I kind of forgot you were sensitive to sound." he apologised.

"It's fine," I replied, sighing as I wondered when I had gotten complacent with him. "You do know that ninja isn't exactly a great game to play for blind people, right Kiba?" truthfully, it was wasn't that hard as long as I was in an area I was familiar with. It was becoming increasingly easier to be able to walk around unfamiliar places and not bump into anything though. As the Inuzuka boy deflated, I sighed. "Why don't we see who can smell the most?" I suggested.

Not only did Kiba become excited at the idea, so did the two canines. They jumped up, eager to play too.

"Let's do it!" the boy cheered. "Onward, Kuro-nee!"

I couldn't help but grin as we set off to find a place with lots of unique smells.

* * *

I groaned as Aonami dressed me in a kimono. It was too tight and too much effort. I could never understand why people would put so much effort to be physically appealing.

"It's too tight!" I heaved, barely able to breathe as my mother continued to pull on whatever it was she was pulling. She gasped, stopping abruptly.

"Sorry, Kuroki-chan! I didn't realise it was tight." she apologised, loosening something so I could actually breathe.

Letting out a sigh of relief, I sagged a little. A frown marred my face as I felt the amusement wafting off of Kuroi. "Stop it." I grumbled, doing my best not to make my displeasure too obvious. My father stepped forward before kneeling down in front of me, ruffling my hair gently.

"You look cute." he complimented me, amusement lacing his voice and causing a slight scowl to form on my face. He turned his attention towards Aonami. "The babysitter should be coming to look after those two soon." he told her as Aonami began to brush my unruly hair.

"Alright, I would've loved to bring them to meet Mikoto-chan, but it would be too much effort to keep those two in check whilst we're having dinner." the woman sighed, sounding forlorn. I was uncaring of it, they would be too much trouble. Especially Kuroda, who was a bundle of annoying energy.

"Can't we dress casual for this dinner?" I muttered, fiddling at my kimono. I tilted my head to see Kuroi interact with Shiruba; the canine was coming so Kuroi thought it would be a good idea to make sure that Shiruba's feet wouldn't be dirtying his feet on our way there. He already had his bath.

Aonami finished brushing my hair. "We're having dinner with the Uchiha's main family. It's only appropriate that we go looking the best we can, even Kuroi is looking more handsome than usual." she explained with a giggle, a mildly repulsed expression on my face as Kuroi flirted with his wife. "Do you want your hair up or down, Kuroki-chan?" she asked.

"Down." I replied immediately. The last time she put my hair up, my hair became horribly tangled in the abundance of hair accessories.

I sat with my brothers as I waited for our parents to get ready. Time had allowed me to reluctantly tolerate them. Shiruba was occupied with Kuroda as I was occupied with playing with Kuroto, who was unlike his more upbeat twin. Kuroto was quiet, never really saying much and liked to clinging to me whenever he saw me.

As much as I resented them… I could never truly hate them. I knew that, because whilst it hurt to know that I wasn't Kuroi and Aonami's only child, I knew that these two attributed to my parents' happiness. I knew that they deserved to have normal children.

It was probably why I was so annoyed with them.

The walk to the Uchiha compound wasn't a long one, since we also lived near the edge of the village too. Having an actual house instead of an apartment in Konoha meant that you were one of the higher class families, I wasn't surprised that the Taidana were valued, with Kuroi's apparent reputation in the ninja world.

The place where the Uchiha lived was basically a small village within a village. The streets were bustling with life, black-eyed and dark-haired people all about and glancing at us curiously or warily. However, there were some who greeted us with fondness. I was bombarded with various smells, sounds and chakra signatures that all seemed to have a distinct similarity between them all.

Now that I thought about it, even Itachi had a similar chakra signature that seemed to identify him as an Uchiha. It kind of weirded me out how just about all of them had that distinct similarity, because… didn't they marry within the clan? I understand the whole 'purity' shit, but it was just kind of weird even if they were distant cousins or something.

We finally arrived at the main house, which apparently was hidden amongst other houses so that it was hard for anyone not an Uchiha to tell where the main family lived. I leaned away from the entrance as an overly energetic woman greeted us, though it was mostly to Aonami than the rest of us.

"Aonami-chan!" the woman exclaimed excitedly, hurriedly moving closer to my mother and embracing her.

"Mikoto-chan!" she greeted back just as excitedly, the two giggling like school girls as they hugged. "It's been so long! How have you been?"

"I've been well! I heard you already had the twins and you still look so beautiful! I'll have to come visit sometime and meet them." the Uchiha woman replied, voice high with excitement as my stomach began to drop. She turned her attention towards Kuroi. "Kuroi-kun, you're looking well, I think Fugaku-kun's been missing you a little."

He nodded. "You too, Mikoto-chan. I'm sure that he wouldn't mind playing a few games after dinner then." he replied, and I could imagine him smirking as there was a subtle confidence in his scent.

My brow was thoroughly furrowed as she finally turned to look at me. "And you must be little Kuroki-chan! It's nice to meet you, I'm Mikoto." she introduced herself pleasantly with a tone I could only find irritation with. She was using that tone as though I was some simple child.

I nodded slightly, forcing my face to relax as I sent a small, crooked grin at her. "Yeah, that's me. It's nice to meet you, Mikoto-chan." I responded, silently finding amusement in her mild surprise before she suddenly returned back to being upbeat.

"Ah, my bad." she said, bemusing me. "I didn't realise. My eldest is like that too, I'll make sure not to use that tone in the future okay, Kuroki-chan?"

I would've blinked in surprised if my eyes weren't blindfolded. Absentmindedly, I nodded. She was perceptive.

We made our way into the dining room, which was rather spacious. Itachi and what I assumed to be Sasuke and Fugaku were already waiting, with a table full of food that caused Shiruba and I to scrunch our noses at the sheer strength of the smells.

Sitting down on the floor with cushions to make the whole position a slight bit more comfortable, I sat across from Itachi; Sasuke beside him with Shiruba across from him; Aonami beside me who had Mikoto across from her; then Fugaku and Kuroi who sat at each end of the table.

It was sort of amusing to see that Shiruba was sitting quietly at the table with his own plate and everything, however my urge to smile was smothered by the scrutinising stare I was getting from the head of the Uchiha clan.

Tilting my head towards him, I opened my mouth to speak. "Fugaku-sama, right? Is there something you want to ask me?" I asked with a neutral tone, resisting the urge to curl my lip in distaste for the honorific.

There are a moment of silence, filled with subtle surprise before the head Uchiha redirected his attention towards a nonchalant Kuroi. "You've been teaching her?" he inquired calmly with a tone that outwardly gave nothing of his thoughts away.

"Yes," Kuroi replied almost proudly, "I decided to help her use her other senses since she's temporarily blind, as it's ideal to practice in all of them. As a result, she can tell that you're being an uptight old fart."

I choked ungracefully on air at my father's casual insult towards Fugaku, even the two brothers were rather shocked themselves whilst the mothers appeared to be used to it.

"You haven't changed, you brat." the older man responded with a tone of both amusement and disapproval. "You should learn some manners." he chided.

"You should tell me why you wanted us to join you for dinner." Kuroi retorted, leaning forward and placing his elbow on the table. "You're not planning on marrying one of your sons off to my daughter, are you now?" he inquired casually, however there was an edge to his tone.

Sasuke's alarmed chakra was brought to my attention, so I immediately turned to him as he suddenly stood up and leaned over the table towards his father.

"Tou-san!" he demanded. "You wouldn't let nii-chan marry _her_, would you?" he asked, the condescending tone in his voice when he referred to me caused me to slightly bare my teeth in irritation.

Mikoto sighed, "Sasuke-kun, sit down please."

"But kaa-san!" the little boy whined. "You can't let nii-chan be married to her! He'd be taken away!"

A snort escaped me, but I immediately regretted it as I felt their attention shift to me.

"Something funny?" the future avenger challenged, shifting into an 'intimidating' pose.

"If anything, I'd more than likely move into the compound which would then nullify the chances of your brother being taken away due to our supposed marriage." I responded, shifting uncomfortably. I think my feet had gone numb some time ago and they were beginning to get pins and needles.

The youngest Uchiha was about to retort when his brother intervened. "Sit down, otouto. We still have not heard tou-san's reply yet." Itachi's soft voice convinced his little brother, however reluctantly.

After looking disapprovingly in his youngest son's direction, Fugaku turned his gaze back to Kuroi. "I wanted to see the eldest offspring of the great 'Ryuu No Denkou'." was his reply to Kuroi's previous question. "I didn't expect her to be temporarily blind."

"Her optic nerves were damaged after she spent too much time in the sun since her eyes were already lacking melanin, which gave her the disadvantage of not having a barrier against UV lights for her eyes. It's not permanent so long as she doesn't use her eyes for the remainder of this year, allowing the drugs in her eyes to do their work and repair any damages." the Taidana male explained briefly.

"She has quite the reputation," Mikoto abruptly piped up, "I heard from one of the civilian women that you were known as 'Dead Eyes', Kuroki-chan."

I nodded. "I have… unique eyes so I would often have other kids trying to bully me. I don't really care, but I tend to get rather defensive whenever they talk badly about my family." I admitted reluctantly.

"At least you stand up for yourself and don't let anyone think they can bully you. It's a good trait to have." the Uchiha woman complimented me. Her husband seemed to always have some sort of disapproval along with one other feeling, since I was getting that and reluctant approval from him. "You're rather mature for your age to be able to handle that." she added as an afterthought.

"Yeah, I suppose." I shrugged.

Dinner after that was filled with chatter between the adults, with Shiruba and I mostly devouring their food since it was great. Of course Aonami had to put the food on both our plates since whilst I could smell the different foods and where they were, I was sure that I would mess up and probably miss. Shiruba was self-explanatory.

After dinner, Mikoto and Aonami began to do whatever mothers did together whilst the two fathers decided to play a few games of shogi and the like. That left me with the other two children and Shiruba in their so-called lounge room.

I had a hard time not curling my lip as a habit of showing my irritation with the little Uchiha brat, who was a bundle of hostility towards me until I managed to distract him with Shiruba. He was distracted enough that he didn't seem to register that Itachi and I were sitting on the same couch together.

"I am sorry if it was uncomfortable." the elder Uchiha brother apologised softly for the events during dinner. "I did not expect tou-san to abruptly invite your family over for dinner when I told him of you."

I sighed, shaking my head as I leaned back into the couch. "It's not your fault. Things happen, I guess my reputation amongst the children of Konoha didn't help either." I smirked slightly.

"It is quite impressive for someone your age to have such infamy within the village," he admitted, "however it would not help if you wanted to keep a low profile. Your… skin tone is uncommon in Konohagakure as well."

I laughed. "Says the Uchiha prodigy. I didn't start the academy early because of my eyes, but you started and graduated early. Now you're a genin and you're only going to improve as time goes by. You're always going to be in some kind of spotlight, no matter what. For me, they'll forget about me soon enough."

He was silent for a few minutes as he digested my words. "I suppose you're right." he conceded. "However, you are too memorable to forget."

My brows rose up in surprise at his words, however I felt my crooked grin growing. As we fell into a comfortable silence, my thoughts were becoming increasingly more conflicting as I realised that my family were close with the main Uchiha family. It made things so much more complicated. I wanted my parents to be happy, but how could they be when Fugaku and Mikoto would be dead in a few years along with the rest of their clan; minus Sasuke and the few other Uchiha.

I had to do something about the damn Uchiha massacre because of this.

Goddamn it.

* * *

**A/N:** Ryuu No Denkou means Lightning Dragon. Reviews are love. Reviews are life. It's never ogre.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Chapter three; REVISED. I have decided to take down the original chapters since it would be confusing for any new readers to the story where they would read the revised version and then to the original and would be wondering where the hell the twins are and why the twins were already born but about to be born again. I apologise to anyone who dislikes this arrangement, but they will be back up revised soon enough.

This also allows me to inform my readers that I have revised, so please feel free to read through the chapters again and if you are unable to review (if you decide to) due to reasons such as having already reviewed before or something, please don't hesitate to PM me your thoughts. Or you could just reply anonymously, either way. I can't reply to you if you do that, but it would still be appreciated.

* * *

I had been feeling strange sensations soon after the dinner with the Uchiha family. It was like a shiver that ran down my spine, foreign and weird… yet at the same time comforting and familiar as though whatever was causing it had been with me from the very beginning.

It was the work of my spirit, Kuroi had told me. I had told him that I had also been getting visions of sorts, putting my shitty and rough plan into motion. Using my spirit as a scapegoat, I had decided to use the whole 'seer' thing where I supposedly see the future. Terrible, cliché and most definitely would bite me in the ass in the future; but I'd do it if it meant that those my family cares about would get to continue living.

He did tell me that some spirits came with their own unique abilities that passed onto their human partner. For example, Kuroi was able to utilise actual lightning with ease in fights thanks to his spirit, which I assumed was part of the reason for his name. With an ability like that, it was curious that he had broken the bond with his spirit who was also pure.

It was so that I wouldn't be forced to have a spirit bonded to me since birth, so that I would have a choice to have one bonded to me. It didn't matter if the spirit was pure or not, any offspring of bonded Taidana members would inevitably be forced to have a spirit who would more than likely be one of the more corrupt type.

What I found curious that I myself could've been one of the corrupt spirits. However, there was nothing when I died. Just a sea of darkness that engulfed me, no worlds to watch in silence. I even had my own spirit so the thoughts were dashed.

But anyway, I had decided to take things slow with the whole seeing-the-future thing just in case I have better ideas. Wouldn't want to feel like shit after a better idea came up and I wouldn't be able to use it.

Other than that, I was doing rather well with my training. My chakra control had become easier, though not perfect but that was to be expected since not even the most accomplished ninja had perfect chakra control. Sakura was lucky in that area. Chakra sensory was one of the much easier things I was capable of doing. I liked to think that I was doing well as a blind person with taijutsu.

The weights I wore constantly were always becoming heavier at least once a month, allowing me to slowly but surely grow stronger. There was also the issue of random bursts of speed or strength that I had been achieving since my spirit had begun to make itself known. For example, I would be running at a sedate pace before I would suddenly pick up speed as if my body had become multiple times lighter; or I would dent the training dummies that Kuroi had gotten me in a random surge of strength.

My main problem had been the weapons. Holding them? Fine, I can deal with that. However, throwing it and hoping it would hit its target was merely a foolish dream. I could on the uncommon chance catch a weapon flying towards me, dodging it wasn't much harder, but actually retaliating with a throw of a weapon was irritatingly difficult. It would go in an another direction, or even on the ground right in front of me. Stances, I could memorise, but I had to guess that it was my lack of eyesight that prevented me from fucking aiming properly.

Why couldn't the spirit help me with that?

* * *

It was the first month of my third year of being blind, so sometime this year, I would be able to see again.

I wasn't looking forward to it… at all. I was so used to not seeing that I felt as though I was fine with being unable to see with my eyes. I felt as though I could see so much more when my eyes were closed and not being in use.

To smell the air, to hear the sound of birds, to feel the chakra that thrummed within the village, to touch and really take in the textures of things. It was an entirely new experience that I found myself liking. I was able to receive so much more information from another person just by their smell, their voice, their chakra. It was empowering and great. Of course I wouldn't lose those abilities as soon as I could see again, but I suppose I was just apprehensive of having to once again use my sight when I hadn't in so long.

Moving on though, Shiruba had turned out to be more than a little help for training. We had actually begun collaboration techniques together like how the Inuzuka did with their own ninken. We made a good team, we were so in sync with each other that it was almost unbelievable. Granted, we were obviously no match for Kuroi or even his clones, but it was good for where we were at the moment.

Of course, we didn't always train together. Being able to fight together was good, but it wasn't ideal if for any reasons we had to fight alone and we weren't able to. Obviously Shiruba wouldn't be able to stand on his two hind legs and then start kick boxing, but he had his own training regime at the Inuzuka compound.

To my horror, Fugaku and the main Uchiha family were becoming increasingly more familiar to me. It wasn't uncommon for them to invite us to dinner occasionally or have the two mothers bring their children to the park and play.

I had the passing thought of the possibility of me being a potential bride option to one of the two brothers, since our ages were similar even if I was three years older than Sasuke. However, that shit was gross and not an option. No matter how badass or attractive they'd be in the future, they were fucking kids to me. I was many things, but I was not a paedophile. Kids pissed me off, I cannot see how people were sexually attracted to them.

Unfortunately, I was forced to get to know them whether I liked it or not. I would have to go on one of these 'bonding dates' with either one or both of the boys if they had time. The pain… oh, the pain. Though, to my surprise Sasuke was becoming increasingly used to my presence. He didn't seem to notice, but if he did, he wouldn't admit it anyway. He expected me to visit at least once a day and would throw a mild tantrum if I didn't.

Admittedly though, I believe Shiruba had been a big factor to the little shit's tolerance of my being. They were practically glued to each other whenever they say each other, so that would often leave me doing something else by myself or spend time with Itachi whenever he was around and not busy.

Itachi was unnervingly mature for his age, quiet and polite. He would usually only speak when asked a question or something similar. His presence was calming as it was unnerving. I was relaxed when I talked with him, something that made me feel wary. He was more than likely able to tell there was something wrong with me even if he didn't say anything.

I wanted to protect his family simply because my parents cared, not because I myself cared about them. I couldn't allow myself to care about them on a deeper level… it was too many people to care for, too many to try and protect, too many people to lose.

I didn't like losing things precious to me. I became something not entirely me, I became some kind of rabid animal that ripped and tore at those responsible.

Unlike his brother, Sasuke was such an annoying little fucking shit that I would've kicked him in the face if I knew there would be no consequences that I cared about. He acted as though he were superior to me simply because I wasn't an Uchiha, trying to act tough and would puff out his chest that annoyed me as I looked down on his smaller form. He was probably adorable, so him taking that stance might've pulled at my inner appreciation of cute things, however I couldn't see so all that was left was an irritated Kuroki.

I often asked him if he thought he was superior to me because I was blind and had a disadvantage. It worked in making him clam up and become uncomfortable before he would shoot out hasty apologies as he realised that it would be just terrible if his brother thought badly of him.

I would never understand those who had sibling complexes. The thought of myself having such a thing for one of my brothers was a fucking horror. I even shivered at the mere thought.

In my time 'bonding', I took note of the way my parents acted around their Uchiha friends. It killed me every time I could just hear and feel the happiness that radiated off them. They wouldn't be like that anymore if the people they cared about were gone, slaughtered like mutts on the road.

Why? I often asked myself. Why did I have to be forced to interfere with such a big ordeal? All I wanted was for the main family to live, the others could rot for all I cared. There was Shisui and his mother, maybe, since Aonami liked them too.

He pissed me off more often than not, though. Body flickering all over the place and disorienting me. I took great satisfaction when I had managed to kick him in the shin for sneaking up on me one time. The ass.

* * *

Whilst Aonami looked after Kuroda and Kuroto, Kuroi and I went to the forest outside of the village for a month to help me learn survival skills during an obvious disadvantage. He had time off and had decided to spend the entirety of it training me. The childish triumph I held over the twins was strong.

Shiruba also came along, training alongside me and being able to learn good survival skills for canines.

That month had felt like it was my own personal hell. Some parts were like I was in heaven, only to have it ripped from me as I was once again thrown into the metaphorical pits of hell. Productive to my training, yes, that month helped in so many ways. However, I was forever traumatised.

When we had returned to the village at the end of the month, Kuroi had looked like he had recently showered and was free from any filth… whilst I was felt and most likely looked like I had been thrown into the forest at top speed and then smashed onto the forest floor after the large amount of trees had used their branches to cut and injure me on my way down. Shiruba probably didn't look much better, he was covered in dirt and other things.

We were the epitome of beauty, obviously.

My loving father (and possible demon) had taught me how to tree climb and kind of water walk. My chakra control had allowed me to master the tree climbing exercise in a few days, however I still hadn't mastered the water walking. My record was about two seconds before I would fall into the water, since you had to balance out your chakra with the water. To my utter surprise and envy, Shiruba was able to stay on the water longer I had been able to.

I will never forget the day that my own canine was better at chakra control than me.

After a wonderfully long shower with Shiruba, I had gotten quizzed on various things by Aonami, who had the habit of smacking me upside the head whenever I got a question wrong. Though, during that shower, I had felt the phantom sensation of a finger running down my back. I had nearly jumped out of my skin, it was fucking creepy shit. Did Kuroi ever deal with shit like that from his spirit? His spirit was a pure female one… so I doubted it. I was sure mine was male, it was just the vibes I had gotten.

After that month of forest hell, I was once again forced to go on a 'date' with the irritating Uchiha Sasuke. As aggravating as it was, Aonami and Mikoto seemed to have it in their heads that Sasuke and I were meant to be, because our little verbal fights meant that were close or some shit. I was even more pissed when I realised that the two husbands of the women had simply shipped me with Itachi. Even Fugaku! Like what.

The bastards, I say. Like I could be attracted to children.

During that particular outing, Sasuke and I had run into the younger version of Haruno Sakura. I scowled as I could smell the girl's strong and horrible perfume, along with her attraction and anxiety to the shit beside me.

"U-uhm…" she began lamely, looking at the floor and Sasuke every few moments whilst completely ignoring my presence. In fact, it was as though she didn't even notice me at all. Did I not stand out? "Hello, Sasuke-kun…" she greeted the boy, finally.

I snorted in amusement at the discomfort that radiated off him, gaining the pinkette's attention. I hadn't realised it was her at the time, I also hadn't realised that she knew of me until her pitiful chakra spiked in alarm and my nose was soon smelling the fear off her.

"T-Taidana-san…!" she gasped, stepping back as I heard the tremble in her voice. Apparently, despite the lack of rumours about me lately, I still had my reputation. I don't know how I even looked that scary. I couldn't stare at them, nor could they see the eyes they feared so much.

"You know her, Kuroki-ch… chan." the Uchiha boy asked, sounding like he was choking a little as he reluctantly used the honorific. I cringed at it, remembering how his mother had forced him to call me that or there would be hell. I myself was forced to call him 'Sasuke-kun' by my own mother. We were not happy.

"Apparently, you don't know of my reputation, Sasuke-_kun_." I drawled sarcastically with an upturned lip as he shivered at the way I muttered the honorific. He knew of my 'fearsome' reputation. I realised that whenever I used honorifics, it sounded more like I was mocking someone rather than giving them respect. Hell, I sounded even ruder when I used honorifics than when I didn't.

"Right." Sasuke sighed, subconsciously stepping closer to me as he returned his attention to his future teammate. "Who are you?" he asked her with a cautious and slightly rude tone. I couldn't blame him for wanting to spend his time with me rather than some fangirl of his. How did she even know him, anyway? I had thought he hadn't started the academy yet.

The girl's chakra jumped as she was addressed to by her crush. "I-I'm Haruno Sakura, Sasuke-kun!" she introduced herself, bowing hastily. I made sure to remember her chakra signature. What a troublesome girl.

Stepping forward, I leaned close to the girl's ear, finding satisfaction in the obvious fear she held for me. "Hey, Sakura… I think Sasuke would like you more if you became a worthy kunoichi. He also likes girls with short hair." I whispered to her, moving away from her and giving a half-hearted wave goodbye as I dragged Sasuke along. He complied silently. I looked forward to the next time I saw her, to see if she took my words to heart or not.

Shiruba barked from my other side as we were about to pass an omusubi stall that the Uchiha brat had been looking at longingly. I sneered as I made my way towards it. I had no idea why I had decided to get it for him.

"What are you doing?" he questioned with caution and suspicion. What did he think I was going to do? Throw him at the stall? Actually, I probably would've.

"Shut up. We're getting omusubi, what do you think I'm doing?" I answered irritably, stepping forward to order four omusubi that was placed in a plastic container.

After I had bought the omusubi and dango for myself and Shiruba, we sat underneath a tree that was in a secluded park.

"Thank you…" Sasuke had thanked me with a reluctant mutter that I could hear perfectly.

I waved a dismissive hand. "You're welcome." I responded as I bit down on my dango. Shiruba sat on my other side, his head in my lap as I fed him.

There was a few minutes of silence as we ate before the boy had decided to speak up. "Kuroki… Kuroki-cha… n." he began with a frown, I had guessed.

"Kuroki is fine when we're alone. I'll just call you Sasuke, or brat." I told him, an amused grin on my lips as his annoyance flared.

"I'm not a brat!" he declared, standing up as though to gain some leverage over me.

I raised a brow. "If you're younger than me, you're a brat." I replied, voice impassive. I stretched a little before leaning against the tree.

He didn't seem to know what to say to that, since he knew that he was younger and there wasn't much he could say to refute it. So instead he decided to attempt and play it cool by clicking his tongue, shoving his hands into his pocking and looking away. "Tch. Whatever."

Since he apparently forgot that there was something he wanted, "Wasn't there something you want to say to me?" I sighed.

Snapping his head up as he realised that, yes, he did, I could feel his eyes boring into me. "Are you ever going to get your eyesight back…?" he asked softly. I tilted my head at the unexpected question.

"Why do you want to know?" I inquired instead, avoiding his question.

He fidgeted uncomfortably. "I… I've never seen your eyes… so I've always wanted to know why they all call you 'Dead Eyes'…" he elaborated.

"It's a rather self-explanatory title. I have eyes that look dead." I answered bluntly. "They don't look normal. When you're different, you're bound to be treated like it."

Though he was young, he seemed to understand. "Like nii-chan…"

I nodded. "He's different. People fear the things they don't understand, the things that are different. But let's not get into that." I smiled as Shiruba made a small sound in his sleep. I began to pet him. Glancing to the Uchiha boy, I noticed his sluggish movement. "Are you tired?"

"A little…" he yawned and rubbed his eye. I was pretty sure it was the middle of the day.

"Take a nap, then. We're not doing much else." I sighed and rested my head against the trunk of the tree. To my surprise, Sasuke had complied and even leaned on my shoulder; his steady breaths telling me he had already fallen asleep.

I frowned as I already noticed that Sasuke was indeed starting to become more than a member of the Uchiha family that I wanted to save. I didn't like it one bit.

* * *

God, hospitals were a horror to anyone who had acute smell. No wonder Kakashi hated hospitals and did his best to escape as soon as possible. I was anxious and irritated, sitting in a hospital room that smelled like blood and shit.

The time had come for me to finally open my eyes and let the world once again see the monstrosities that they were. Kuroi and Aonami stood in the room as well, leaving the twins with a trusted baby sitter that was Tsume.

"Alright, Kuroki-chan. Are you ready?" the doctor asked gently, taking a seat in front of me. I leaned back slightly, the smell of his cologne giving me the urge to snarl at him. With great self-control though, I had managed to keep my face neutral.

"Yeah." I muttered, feeling him remove the black cloth that blocked my eyes from the world for the betterment of two and a little-more-than-a-half years. I frowned as the dim light of the room touched my eyelids, allowing me to see light for the first time in years.

The doctor grabbed my face and tilted it upwards with a gentle touch, rubbing some kind of liquid over my eyelids that I assumed were to help me open my eyes with minimal pain. "Okay, when you feel ready, slowly open your eyes and tell us what you see." he instructed me, waiting patiently as he let go of my face.

_'I see dead people.'_ my mind had thought immediately. I resisted the urge to smile and actually use it, and it also helped that I heard a whisper of a chuckle near my ear, causing me to jump a little.

"Don't be scared, Kuroki-chan. You'll be fine." the doctor assured me.

My frown returned as confusion set in. Only I had heard the chuckle of creepiness, then?

**'Mm… yes…'**

_'Oh, my god!'_

"Kuroki-chan?" my mother spoke my name with a tone of worry as I jumped from my chair in alarm.

"I'm cool, I'm cool." I breathed, settling back into my chair. _'A little warning next time, dear spirit of mine. You picked a convenient time to show up, didn't you?'_ I thought irritably, my frown deepening as I heard his amused chuckle once more.

He was obviously male, sounding like a soft-spoken and youthful man who was probably in his early twenties at the least. **'I do try…'** he replied, his voice sounding so close it was like he was right next to my ear. It was nice to know that he had a sense of humour, yeah?

"Sorry," I apologised, remembering what I was doing and where I was. "I'm fine now."

"When you're ready." the doctor said soothingly.

Taking a deep breath, I began to slowly pry my eyes open. The movement was sluggish and felt foreign since it was something I hadn't done in a long time. My sight was blurred, but I could see a hazy image of a man in front of me, who was the doctor. There was a dim light above us.

I blinked as I was squinting, trying to open my eyes a slight bit more, however they began to water and sting so I had promptly shut them.

"It's okay," the doctor assured both myself and my family, "it's quite common to be sensitive after having your eyes closed for so long."

_'No fucking shit, man. Just because I'm physically eight doesn't mean I'm a dumbass.'_ I instantly thought. Granted, they didn't know that I was smarter than they thought, but it still irked me. It took me a few minutes to be able to actually full open my eyes, but my vision was still blurry and my eyes were all watery. I continuously blinked rapidly for a good five minutes just to try and get used to the weird feeling.

The doctor took our attention when he had suddenly gasped softly.

"What is it, Akiyama-san?" Kuroi asked from my left.

Akiyama stepped back. "Her eyes… I believe the drugs may have been uneven." he commented, allowing my parents to move until they were in front of me.

"They're multi-coloured!" Aonami gasped. "Why are they multi-coloured?" she demanded, turning her attention to the bemused doctor.

My face scrunched up into a scowl as I registered her words. _'Multi-coloured? What the actual fuck?'_ I had thought.

Akiyama's chakra spiked. "It must've been the drug. It was meant to produce melanin and create a protective layer on her eyes, however it must've been unbalanced with the way her eyes are now. I've never seen anything like it."

"I have no idea what you are going on about." I frowned, feeling a little clueless.

"Ah, here's a mirror." the doctor muttered, handing me as mirror.

I blinked at it, staring at it for a few moments to let it sink in that he had given me a mirror when I couldn't even properly see yet. "I still can't see properly." I spoke with a deadpan as I shifted my blurred gaze onto him. He became flustered, hastily taking the mirror back as I decided to shut my eyes since my eyes had become so watery that liquid was running down my cheeks.

"O-oh, my bad Kuroki-chan. It's just that this is a rather unusual occurrence." he replied as he put the mirror away.

I sighed. "Can you at least tell me what they look like?"

"Well, your eyes were originally a black-brown…" he began, "now, as an effect of the drug, your irises have mixed colours in them. There's some blue, emerald, gold and even a bit of red there." he explained, his discomfort obvious.

"Does that mean her eyes took in different amounts of melanin?" my father asked.

"Essentially, yes. It shouldn't hinder her, but it's a bit odd truthfully. Normally, we calculate the amount of melanin needed for each eye and then let it settle. The most difference would be that one eye is a shade lighter than the other, perhaps even another colour splashed in. Nothing like this though. With Kuroki-chan, her eyes have created more colours than natural." Akiyama leaned against something. "Usually, a child's eyes would begin to change colour into its final pigment during their newborn to toddler stages. Your daughter's eyes were originally rather unique in their appearance, however we didn't believe that they would have any effects on her optic nerves. The calculation of melanin needed may have been off for her eyes." he finished with a sigh.

"Is it harmful?" Kuroi inquired, his tone even but I had other ways to know that he was worried.

"No, no." the doctor waved his hand dismissively. "At least, it shouldn't be but Kuroki-chan's eyes are a first for us, so it might be best if you keep an eye on her or we could arrange for her to come here every month to check up on her."

I was admittedly not really excited to know that I had rainbow-coloured eyes. I mean, I have not seen anyone whose eyes were like that naturally. _'Did you have anything to do with this?'_ I asked the spirit mentally.

**'Perhaps so… perhaps not… I'm sure you look beautiful either way…'** he replied, causing a shiver to run up my spine. He chuckled as I groaned inwardly. **'You and I will get along… oh, we will… you have such… entertaining memories…'**

Surprise filled me. _'You can go through my memories?!'_

**'It's quite interesting to know that you're from a world that… sees this one as nothing but a story of fiction…'** he whispered.** 'How curious… I'm honoured to be your spirit… Kuroki-chan…'**

I shivered once again when he spoke my name. Were all Taidana spirits meant to be enigmatically creepy and yet so strangely intriguing, I wondered. I was lost in my thoughts as my parents and the doctor talked. It was quite the eventful day, I'd say.

* * *

The next two months after I was able to use my eyes again had been a horror. My mood had been bad since I wasn't used to using my eyes anymore and I was forced to readjust back into using them. Two months and I felt as though it was still painful no matter how much I tried. There was also the part where the twins' first birthday had passed and quite a few people had come as I tried to hide in my room.

It didn't help when I had a voice in my head that liked to talk and chuckle at my expense. _'Can't you go away?'_

**'We're bonding…'** he replied, sounding mildly as though he was sulking.

I didn't reply as I made my way into the kitchen, immediately regretting my decision to enter the room of light. I cowered in the corner, hearing Aonami gasp as my back hit the wall.

"Kuroki-chan! Oh, I'm sorry sweetie! I forgot!" she exclaimed as she moved around hurriedly to dim the lights for my sake.

I muttered my thanks as she went to check up on the twins, who were in the lounge currently watching something on the TV. _'Sweet darkness…'_ I thought appreciatively.

**'What a vampire you are…'**

_'Shush, you.'_

After finding something to snack on, I had decided to play with my chakra since I couldn't read that well yet. Eventually though, I got bored and had decided to ask my spirit something. _'Do you happen to have a name?'_

There was a moment of silence before he answered. **'I have a name…'** he purred. **'Do you want to know it…?'**

_'Sure.'_ I replied. It was something I shouldn't have agreed to so readily.

**'My name… Kuroki-chan… is Satsujin…'**

It was so abrupt, the tugging sensation on my heart that soon felt as though it was being constricted and pulled. The sound of the blood in my veins were so loud that they were the only thing I heard as I crashed to my knees and gripped at the cloth situated in front of the organ that kept me alive. My skin had started to heat up, and I let out a pained gasp as I felt like someone was engraving letters onto my chest.

As I felt like I was being pulled by something, everything had stopped as I was rendered unconscious.

* * *

When I awoke, I was met with a sight that I thought I would never see again. The pull of nostalgia made me sneer as I remembered that I shouldn't have been here. I was at the edge of the cliff, the very same cliff that I had sat at so many times in my past life. It was the very same cliff that many people had jumped off, letting gravity pull them into the depths of the oceans and the hidden rocks that lay underneath.

It was as beautiful as I remembered. The sun was up high though there was various clouds obscuring its full light; the cool wind brushed against me; the crashing waves of the sea entering my ears. It was just as I last saw it. It was my escape from that neighbourhood, allowing me to just… relax.

However, I knew that I shouldn't have been here._ 'Am I dead again?'_ I had wondered idly.

**'Why would I let you die… when we've only just become… friends?'** that voice asked, a black… hand that better resembled claws had entered my vision for a moment before I felt it brush through my hair.

Bewildered, I jumped up and turned around to face the intimidating form that was my spirit.

He was abnormally tall and lanky, towering over me. His entire form was black, like a shadow, adding to the intimidation. He had long legs and arms with hands that I had previously mentioned were like claws or talons. His torso was thin, but he had broad shoulders. The spirit's face or lack thereof held the most intriguing feature on him.

He was without eyes, or a nose. His head was spiky, as though he had hair of his own that also defied gravity. It even swayed in the wind. He did, however, have a mouth that was positioned into an unmoving and unnatural grin that showed his obsessively white and shark-like teeth. It contrasted so greatly with his body.

It occurred to me that I had felt strangely calm in his presence; comfortable, even. I also noticed that my eyesight was perfect, but it was merely a passing thought. I was compelled to go closer to him, and as if on cue, he had stepped closer to me with the grace of a predator. I had stepped forward as well.

"What did you do to me?" I asked, my voice unusually more subdued than usual as I used my hand to keep my hair from flying into my face.

His wispy chuckle carried in the wind and brushed past my ear. It held no malice or sadism… just simple amusement and intrigue that I could somehow feel within me.** 'You feel it too… don't you?'** he asked, stepping forward until he right in front of me and kneeling down.** 'You can feel the connection between us…'** he continued, his clawed finger gently touching the spot where my heart was. **'From your birth into this world… I've always been with you… I've always watched you… you're not a good person, Kuroki-chan…'**

I looked down, somehow disliking it when someone told me to my face that I was a horrid excuse for a human being. His finger was under my chin, gently making me look up to the spot where his face was.

**'It is exactly what I love about you…'**

I was shocked, safe to say. "How could you love me? Why would you love me?" I frowned. "My family love me because they don't know me entirely. Yet you claim you…" my face had morphed into something unpleasant as I failed to grasp the reasoning behind this strange spirit's words.

As he grabbed my small hand and brought it to his face, I realised that he did actually have a nose, and that the reason why I couldn't see it was because there was absolutely no shading on his body whatsoever.

**'I know everything about you… you're _perfect_ in my eyes…'** he commented, allowing me to childishly touch his three-dimensional face with awe. **'One day… I knew that I would be bonded to a Taidana as my brethren have been… however I always believed that my partner… would be less than adequate to my desires…'**

I paused in my actions to stare at him.

**'I can help you become strong… I can help you with the troubles that lie ahead for you… all I want you to do…'** he leaned forward, his large hands cupping my face. **'You have to stay the same… you have to keep your mindset… you'd kill anyone who'd threaten the happiness of your family… you'd corrupt yourself further just for them… you'd become a demon if you could… stay like that… stay vicious and corrupted…'**

There was really no other outcome for this little event. I had accepted his offer, even if I hadn't verbally agreed. I would throw myself head first back into the underworld if it meant the happiness of my family. I was already horrible, so nothing would really change.

And so, our contract was done. I had felt like I signed a deal with the devil, but a devil I found myself to be comfortable with.

A grin formed on my face as my resolve hardened. I would protect them, but that didn't mean I couldn't have fun in this world either.

* * *

Since that day, a few months had passed. Jin, as I had nicknamed him, hid my chakra signature so that no one could tell the change that had occurred within me. My chakra had changed, Jin's essence had become a part of me, allowing my signature to change and give off an ominous aura.

I didn't really want anyone to feel it, so Jin had hid it. Of course it was obviously suspicious, but I could handle it. I'd rather not have to deal with the questions as to why my chakra felt more malicious and had become larger in such a short amount of time.

Another plus to his presence was that my eyes had completely healed, allowing me my perfect vision back. However, I liked to keep my eyes closed unless I was training with weapons and sometimes when I was doing taijutsu. I just felt more comfortable doing things like that.

I finally saw what my brothers looked like for the first time. Their hair and skin were the same as Kuroi's, both had messy and spiky hair with tan skin. However, there were some obvious differences.

Kuroto had dark emerald eyes like Aonami, except that unlike hers, his were calm and almost calculating. He had a mole near the left side of his mouth and he also had a similar marking to mine. It was different in that it was larger and appeared to be more jagged, with it being situated under his right eye as well. When he had first seen me looking at him, the one-year-old had immediately attached himself to me, his face in mine as he stared with a failed attempt of a concealed awe.

Kuroda looked unsurprisingly identical to his brother in regards to facial structure, however you could easily tell the difference between them. His eyes were a light brown, which were more expressive and open than his brother's. He too had the marking under his right eye, though his was a bit thinner and less jagged. He had a mole under his left eye and on the right side of his neck. He also smiled a lot more than Kuroto, who rarely smiled. Kuroda wasn't shy about showing his excitement in regard to his sister's new eyes.

Speaking of my eyes, they were a right mess.

Starting with my right. Around the pupil was gold that shifted into brown. Then there was dots of red scattered all over my irises, some emerald patches in the left corner and bluish-hazel here and there. It was hard to see the original black-brown that it was, but you could see it there if you looked past the bright colours.

Onto the left. Gold was around the pupil again, however it shifted into red this time. The black-brown was also the base colour as it had been on the right eye. Emerald spots of various sizes were placed randomly around the iris whilst blue had taken over most of the bottom in broken patches.

They also still remained dead-looking and glazed over, which I had guessed was like a symbol that I had once died and been reborn. Probably bullshit, but I went with it. I couldn't stare at my eyes for too long before I began to creep myself out. It unfortunately stood out too much in contrast to my dark appearance.

Another interesting thing was that I had a bunch of black symbols decorating my chest with the main part originating from where my heart was. They were like seals, which I had assumed were from Jin when we bonded. They travelled up to my arms as the months passed, so I hid them with the sleeves of my hoodies and bandages.

Although Kuroi had told me to tell him when I had bonded with my spirit to make sure that I wasn't being corrupted, I decided not to. I just… I couldn't for some reason and so I didn't. I had a feeling he already knew anyway and just didn't verbally address it, since the whole showing me his own markings from his bond was an obvious indicator. His body was scarred and ripped, so added with the seal-like markings, he looked pretty damn badass.

Every time I went out, I would cover my eyes with the black cloth since I just felt so… vulnerable for some reason. Though I didn't care too much about others' opinions, I'd rather not have to deal with the stares and questions towards my eyes. I just… didn't want to deal with it. I asked my parents not to tell anyone that I could see again, it felt easier being able to pretend. Although Tsume already knew.

This way, I felt like I wouldn't be dulling the senses I had become so accustomed to. Except that Kuroi had decided that it was best to up my training regime and begin on the things I needed eyesight for.

Learning multiple taijutsu styles and mastering them, then incorporating them into my own unique fighting style. My former fighting style was a mix between street-style fighting and silent killing styles that I had learned from one of my 'superiors' as it were.

I was up to it. Thought it would be easy. It was not easy. Not in the least, not even with Jin's physical enhancements to my body. I had gotten overconfident and it was thrown right back into my face. The first style I was meant to learn ended in disaster on the first try. A terrible disaster. No more on that, for fear of the pain it brings my pride every time I remember it.

One thing that I remember fondly was when I was able to finally use the 'I see dead people' line. Kiba had visited one day after his day at the academy, already knowing that I could see again thanks to Tsume. So, I looked him dead in the eye and said it to him with the utmost seriousness.

He cried. I laughed, then I got smacked upside the head by Aonami and had to apologise. The brat tackled me angrily and said I'd pay for scaring him like that. Then Kuroda and Kuroto tackled him for 'hurting their nee-chan'.

I was not happy, dammit. I was not happy in the least when they came to defend me to readily… no… not at all.

On another note, I had nearly killed someone for real one day. He had said that the Taidana were a bunch of necromancers and that my father should've killed himself so that I wouldn't have been born.

I was so infuriated that I had laughed. It was weird, but I tended to get overwhelmed when I was pissed off and I would begin to laugh, if somewhat maniacally. The hallucination of murdering him was great, so vivid and satisfying.

However, in the end it was merely just that; a hallucination.

* * *

**A/N: **Reviews are love. Reviews are life. It's never ogre.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Chapter four; REVISED. Like before, if you can't review, PM me.

* * *

I downright snarled at the man in front of me, whom I had the displeasure of seeing once again. Thanks to the new contacts I had gotten from the hospital, I was able to actually go outside with my eyes open and not deal with the weird stares or questions that people would've asked me if they saw my actual eye colour… colours? They were the same colour my eyes had been before I went blind, so it looked like nothing changed. Including the dead look.

But I digress. The reason for my snarling was the man who had insulted my family and wished that Kuroi had killed himself so that I wouldn't have been born. I didn't kill him, much to my disappointment. The hallucination felt horribly real.

He was standing there, looking at peaches with his horrid blue eyes. The wind brushed against his orange mane and caused me to smell cringe in disgust as the smell of his shampoo entered my nose. As if hearing my colourful thoughts, he turned to meet my eyes.

It was simply staring for a second before both of our gazes turned into burning glares. My eyes narrowed even more when he began to walk towards me, stopping right in front of me so he was towering over me and hoping to make me cower simply because he was bigger. Fucking prick.

"If it isn't the little necromancer," he curled his lip, "are you following me around now? I don't think a little thing like you could kill me."

I snorted. "Get fucked." I swore, feeling satisfaction as I felt his surprise. "You think I'd follow around your stank ass like an aggravated puppy? Conceited. Also, it doesn't take much to stab a person in the stomach."

After he recovered, his glare intensified, but it was nothing compared to glares I had seen before. "You have a foul mouth, don't you?" he growled. "Your parents must be as horrible as I imag-" he was interrupted by me since I bared my teeth at him in a snarl.

"Do it, I dare you." I challenged maliciously, my fingers twitching as I was unable to fully contain the extent of my killing intent. "Finish the sentence."

Though I doubted I would be able to actually kill him before some jounin or ANBU would step in and stop me, I had every intention of trying. His bravado faltered when he saw that I was ready to pounce on him like a rabid animal and proceed to do what I had been longing to do for a long time. He visibly shook as my killing intent wrapped around him like tendrils and held him to the spot. Hell, I think maybe a few of the other villagers had felt it.

"You're alive now… only because your meaningless death would have unfortunate consequences to myself and my family." I explained, forcibly calming myself and smiling menacingly at him. "As much as I would love to rip your throat out and shove it through your chest, your life is not worthy enough to take."

With that, I turned and walked in the other direction, leaving a crowd of unsettled villagers.

* * *

Someone was watching me. Always in the shadows, trying to stay hidden and unknown. Of course it was an ANBU. They were good at hiding their chakra signature, but unfortunately for them, I was trained to sense even the minute amount of chakra and Jin was able to see my surroundings from whatever dimension he was in. It was hard _not _to spot them.

I memorised the signature and each day, it was the same person. I had at first thought it was Kakashi, but I knew his signature so that idea was thrown out the window. I felt more concerned with why they were watching me.

_'Do you have an idea as to why they're stalking me?' _I asked my dear spirit.

**'You have the habit of being… a public disturbance with all your killing intent…' **he explained, chuckling softly as I sighed.

_'Point taken.' _of course it was obvious. I'd feel wary too if someone in my village randomly but frequently released killing intent. It wasn't my fault people were jackasses, myself included.

Scars were something I was used to both in this life and the last. Getting a few on my chest from weapons training wasn't bad, hardly even hurt if I was being honest. Speaking of weapons training, now that I had the use of my eyes, I was doing better. Never hit a bullseye, but it was better than the times where I would miss completely. At least it got on a small bit of the target.

Still sucked at water walking though. So taijutsu and sensory were my best talents, along with the rest of my senses and my academics… which I had to be updated on. I loved to read, but it was a bit much.

There was the day Kuroi had given me a piece of chakra paper. After putting a little chakra in it, my affinity was lightning. Unsurprising but exciting all the same. Even Kuroi smirked a little. I swore he was related to the Uchiha clan since they rarely smiled as well.

Actually, our clans were rather similar now that I thought about it. We both had our own version of curses and all that. I was curious as to why the Taidana seemed to be so… accepted amongst the clan. I had assumed that since the Taidana were immune to all types of genjutsu at the expense of not being able to use genjutsu themselves, that the Uchiha, who excelled at such would've hated them during the warring states period. They were good at holding grudges.

But anyway… I was able to shunshin. Ecstatic, I was. Moving at such a high speed that it seemed like teleportation was downright awesome. Though I wasn't able to get the landing right, like that one time I had managed to fling myself into a tree. I'd rather not speak of that.

Things were moving along progressively. That fucker that I had dubbed 'Carrot Top Fucker' was officially my enemy. We hated each other with a fiery passion, however he stayed far away from me after the incident before.

I made eye contact with Uzumaki Naruto one time. Shiruba and I were lazing about under a tree after a training session, I was sticking a bunch of sticks to my hand when I saw the blonde boy poke his head out from behind a tree. The moment our eyes met, his eyes widened and he promptly ran away.

_'Apart from the usual dead-eyed look, I look like how I usually do. So why am I still being feared?' _I wondered. I did usually have a hoodie over my head since I still didn't like the sun, but it couldn't be that much of a factor to why people feared me so, I thought.

**'Other than your intimidating aura… you have eyes that see through people for the person that they really are… instead of the people that they try to be…' **Jin had explained to me.

_'I suppose,' _I sighed and leaned back into the tree. Truth be told, I saw quite a few of the members of Konoha Eleven. They avoided me like the plague, though. I didn't really want to interact with them either. Getting attached to them was unnecessary effort. Too troublesome.

I already had to deal with the Uchiha massacre, which was an absolute nightmare to even think about. Seeing the future seemed like the only viable option that I would able to use, however my wish for originality made me sigh. Something like entering ROOT and massacring the Uchiha I didn't care about myself, but Danzo was weird and no one was touching my fucking tongue.

* * *

Kuroi blinked as he sat on the couch situated in the Hokage's office, his eyes glued to a book that he planned to give to Kakashi after he had finished.

The Hokage himself sighed at his subordinates lackadaisical ways. "I asked to meet you so we could discuss the topic of your daughter, Kuroi-kun. It's recommended that you pay your full attention to me."

As he finished the last of his sentence, the Taidana had already closed the book after marking it and placed it in his back pocket. Black-brown eyes stared intensely at the old man. "This isn't about her leaking killing intent all over the village, is it?" he asked, sighing quietly to himself.

"That's one part of it," Hiruzen agreed, "but there is also the issue of Danzo being interested in her."

Kuroi's eyes narrowed dangerously. "She's turning nine this year."

"The younger they are, the better. You know this Kuroi-kun." the Hokage replied wearily.

Leaning back, the tanned man clicked his tongue in annoyance. He knew too well what it was like to be a part of ROOT.

"I'm sure you're aware of the complaints I've been receiving about her and her tendencies to get violent. I'm surprised to see that she has mastered killing intent to such a degree that it would visibly unsettle the citizens." the Hokage stated, lacing his fingers together as he stared at the other man.

"She's stopped with the violence." Kuroi pointed out.

"But not the killing intent." Hiruzen retorted. "I know you dislike having ANBU watch her, but the council believes that she may be a threat to the village with the way she is now. I believe she's getting restless."

Kuroi's mood darkened as he heard those words. "They all think she's like my parents, don't they? Are they going to do this to the twins too?"

The aged man sighed. "Unfortunately, yes to the first question. It's likely that they might be watched when they grow, however if they don't display signs like Kuroki-chan has, I believe they may be safe. Has she told you that she's bonded with her spirit yet?" he asked, leaning forward as he waited for the answer.

The Taidana before him frowned, lips thinning into a displeased line. "She won't tell me, but I know she has. She knows I know too, but she seems like she doesn't want to tell me. Apparently her spirit gives her the ability to see the future." he revealed.

Eyes widening, the Hokage was surprised. "What? She's a seer?"

After a nod and a meaningful gaze, the Hokage's office was silenced.

* * *

When you've been summoned to the Hokage Tower, it didn't mean good things. Not at all. Not one bit. The entire way there I was a twitchy mess, unable to hide the nerves and anxiety that I felt.

All too soon, we had arrived. I stood in front of the Hokage Tower with my father at my side, my left eye and fingers twitching madly. I had the urge to start rambling with a tonne of colourful words to help ease my uneasiness, however that would be inappropriate.

"Calm down, Kuroki." my father placed his hand on my head in an attempt to comfort me. I was calmed only somewhat, able to stare with an uncomfortable intensity at the Hokage as I struggled to keep a straight face. The smell of smoke was heavy and it irritated my nose.

After a moment of apparently silencing the room, he began to talk in an overly soothing manner. "Hello, Kuroki-chan." he greeted, smiling at me disarmingly.

I twitched, the urge to swear at the tip of my tongue.

"She doesn't like to speak when she's nervous." Kuroi explained when the old man gave him a questioning look. "Usually it's because she tends to ramble with some colourful words that I don't remember teaching her."

Hiruzen blinked in surprise before chuckling quietly. "I understand. Alright, when you think you're ready; do you know why you're here, Kuroki-chan?"

_'Because I would be this fucking anxious and nervous if I knew, you fucking ass.' _I growled inwardly, doing my absolute best to not let my irritation show.

**'I believe that this may be due to your plans of pretending to see the future…' **Jin had suggested helpfully, something that seemed to soothe me as the tension left my shoulders.

"I'm guessing that my father finally told you of my ability to see the future, or more specifically, the Uchiha clan." I finally spoke up, tilting my head as I began to regain my composure. I frowned minutely when I felt Kuroi become suspicious of my sudden change in demeanour.

"You're as smart as Kuroi says." the Hokage praised. "You are correct. Could you tell me more about these visions that you've been receiving for the past year or so?"

I frowned. "Will you tell anyone of my ability?" I asked seriously. It wouldn't do for word to get out that there was a supposed seer in Konoha. I'd rather not get kidnapped in an attempt to hold an advantage, only to have their hopes dashed when they realised that I know of one future and even that wasn't because I was a seer.

"Only if necessary." Hiruzen replied with the same intensity. "Your ability is quite dangerous and something that many would desire to have in their hands."

I sighed in defeat. So much for a change of plans. "Alright. What happened was…"

Skip past the boring details of recounting the Uchiha massacre and some other shit, I was dead tired. I was glad Jin was able to sort through my memories and help me out with my long ass story telling. I practically fell onto my bed, too mentally exhausted to feel as though I wanted to train. The Uchiha massacre wasn't my problem anymore, not unless they fucked up, then that would be my problem.

Along with revealing my faked ability to see the future, I was also informed that I would be starting the academy in February. I would be in an advanced class that had only one student; me. Apparently, the council had beliefs that it was dangerous for a Taidana to be around other children constantly in a learning environment. A chuunin whom had volunteered would be my teacher until I had finished all year levels of academic learning before I would then take the Genin exams. According to my father's estimates, it would only take four months.

The thought of having to do everything from start to finish in a mere four months had broken something within me.

* * *

"Take them out." the little raven-haired boy all but ordered. His eyes were narrowed and his hands were at his hips as he stared defiantly up at me.

I raised an unamused brow, even curling my upper lip in irritation. "No." I refused for the umpteenth time.

Huffing, Sasuke made his way to his brother, who had been silently watching the event with mild amusement for the past few minutes. "Nii-chan! Convince Kuroki to take them out!" he begged, determined to see what was underneath.

I clicked my tongue and cursed my parents who had announced at the Uchiha dinner table that I was wearing contacts and that my eyes _were simply beautiful._

"Kuroki does not wish to remove them, Sasuke." Itachi replied with his usual softness. Despite his words though, I could sense that he himself was also curious to see what was under the contacts.

The terror then began to use his infamous face of cuteness on his elder brother, who was irritatingly susceptible to it. I narrowed my eyes at him, mentally warning him that if he was to falter, the consequences were not to be taken lightly.

A defeated sigh escaped his lips and I outright bared my teeth at him. "Kuroki-chan, would you please enlighten us by removing your eye contacts and showing us what is underneath?" he asked as formally as one of the Uchiha could, another sigh escaping him except only in resignation of what was going to come.

"Kuroda, Kuroto." I called to my brothers, who were playing with Shiruba before they swiftly turned their adoring attention to me. "Your nee-chan is being threatened, attack."

With no protests that came in the form of incoherent babbling, the twins immediately began to toddle over to the two Uchiha brothers with admirable speed and began with their attack; slobbering bites that included newly gained teeth.

"Ah! Kuroto-kun, let go!" Sasuke yelped in pain, trying to remove his ankle from the small toddler without actually hurting him. He winced when his only reply was a harder bite. "This is gross and painful! Stop it!"

Itachi, on the other hand was already out of the reach of Kuroda (who had promptly decided to assist his brother in the attacking of one Uchiha Sasuke), moving to stand in front of me with an almost too blank look. "Kuroki, please stop the attack of the twins. I apologise for the inconvenience of requesting something so personal." he apologised, his voice laced with a twinge of guilt.

I regarded him for a long moment, letting him wallow in his mild guilt before raising a hand. "Boys, desist." I ordered, noting that in the corner of my eye the two boys had let go of the older one. They were downright prodigies if they understood what the words 'desist' and 'threatened' mean.

As the Uchiha heir thanked me, I gave a deep sigh and decided that I might as well show them or else I would always get that irritating stare of curiosity whenever I met up with them. "Fine, you heathens. Fine." I growled, moving to remove my contacts. When I looked up, Sasuke was beside Itachi, both with varying expressions of shock and surprise. I blinked. "The drugs messed up, so this happened. They had one job, dammit. One job." I muttered bitterly under my breath.

"It's like Aonami-san and Kuroi-san said; they are beautiful." the Uchiha prodigy complimented me, a small smile on his lips as I stared at him with widened eyes.

"They really are," Sasuke agreed, his tone in his voice was one of awe. When I turned to him, he seemed to realise what he had said and promptly began to redden. With a huff and the childish folding of arms, he looked away. "I mean, they're not that pretty or anything. They're okay."

"It's okay, Sasuke," I started, patting him on the head, "I understand that with my stunning good looks and mesmerising rainbow eyes of death, there is no way anyone can't fall for me."

Itachi and I shared looks of amusement when the little Uchiha's face blew up in red and he began to shout his denial; which caused him to get bombarded by the wrath of the little twins who had believed that their nee-chan was being threatened. Useful indeed.

"He is going to need a thorough bath after this." the eleven-year-old commented as I put my contacts back in.

"True." I grinned. It was the second time the twins had attended the dinner that we usually had with the Uchiha family, it was also the second time Sasuke had been attacked by them. "Hey, Itachi?"

He turned to me, giving me his full attention.

"Don't tell anyone of my eyes, please." I requested, looking up at him. "It'd be annoying to have people come up to me and try to force me to remove my contacts so they can see the mess that is my eyes."

"You have my word." Itachi nodded after a moment. "I will make sure Sasuke does not tell anyone either."

I smiled. "Thank you."

* * *

Kiba was annoying with the way he'd nag me to take out of my contacts every time he was around and was sure no one who didn't know of my 'condition' was around. To my great annoyance, I had gotten so fed up with it that I took them out without prompt so that he wouldn't throw an irritating tantrum that only children were capable of.

I had often thought about what Hana thought about me being another one of Kiba's so called sisters, but she seemed to be fine with it and got along with me, surprisingly. We didn't talk much, but there was a small grin that greeted her every time she said hi.

Their mother was a saint as much as she was a really rough and slightly demonic woman. She tended to help me with my sense of smell, which improved greatly. To my horror though, I wasn't born an Inuzuka and didn't automatically possess the ability to compartmentalise scents and ignore others so I was often bombarded by the abundance of them; which was what Tsume had begun to teach me. It was horrifying and torturous, but I powered through like a champ.

So most of my month was training and occasionally doing other things, then before I knew it, it was the beginning of February and I was to the academy by myself since Aonami was busy with the twins and Kuroi was out on a mission.

I had done my daily run so I was early and not many people had arrived yet. I remembered that my room was somewhere in at the back of the academy, where most of the spare classrooms were. I ignored the few looks on my person as I made my way to it.

Once I opened the door, the first thing I saw was the male standing of the teacher's desk at the front of the classroom. He was tall, with white skin, weirdly purple hair and eyes the colour of grass. I blinked as he blinked at me.

"Yo." I greeted half-heartedly, raising an arm to greet him. My gaze was tired since it was morning and I was more often than not mentally exhausted due to the fact that Jin was a plethora of knowledge. Knowledge was power. I had even developed the dark markings under my eyes that most of my dead clan had.

The man nodded shakily, raising his own hand as he gave me a smile that looked more like a grimace. "Hello, Kuroki-chan. I'm Tanaka." he introduced himself, pulling out glasses and putting them on. "I'll be the chuunin who'll be teaching you for the next few months before your graduation exam."

I frowned, watching as he flinched with my minute eye movement. "Right. You know me already. Let's get this over with." I sighed, moving to the closest seat that was in front of him and sitting tiredly in it.

He smiled a little less forcefully. "Good to know you're eager."

At lunch time, I had the inconvenience of running into both Sasuke and Kiba. The two of them had their eyes lighten up when they saw me, not noticing the other as they made their way towards me until they were right beside each other.

Kiba was the first to make a facial expression. "Hey, Uchiha. What the heck are you doing?" he demanded rudely, stepping closer to me.

The Uchiha scowled, doing the same in his movements. "Likewise, Inuzuka. I'll have you know that she is a treasured friend of the main Uchiha family." he replied with the arrogance that the Uchiha seemed to be born with.

The other clan boy growled. "Well, she's a treasured family member of the main Inuzuka family! I beat you! She's my nee-chan!" he retorted, sticking his tongue out and clinging to my left side whilst glaring at the raven-haired boy.

Sasuke's face scrunched up horribly as if he was offended at the idea of _his _Kuroki being someone else's. It seemed like he was torn between clinging to me or coming up with a witty retort. "Well… you don't know her as well as I do!" he declared, stomping his foot like the child he was.

I looked down to see that Kiba's face was shocked, before his expression became angry and challenging. He let go of me to cross his arms and stand as tall as he could. "Yeah, as if! I know Kuro-nee's biggest secret!"

"I bet it's not her biggest secret! I know her _real _biggest secret!"

"No way!"

"Yes way!"

"Well, what is it, then huh?!"

"It's her-"

"Excuse me," I interrupted with an overly calm tone, causing the two children to turn to me with varying expressions of fear, "I thought I had asked the both of you to not tell my secret." I finished, narrowing my eyes at the two of them. Guilt and shame overcame them. "I guess I'll just never have to share things with the two of you again if you're going to just tell anyone." I sighed, turning to walk back inside and make my way to the roof.

I was unable to do so as two forms grabbed me, one attached to my right leg and another grasping my arm. I looked to see the Inuzuka clinging to my leg like a lifeline and that the Uchiha was staring intently at the grip he had on my hand.

"I'm sorry…" the dark-haired boy muttered, his bangs shielding his eyes. "I didn't mean to. I'm really sorry…"

"I'm sorry too!" Kiba barked. "I'm like, way more sorry than that damn Uchiha!"

"Hey, what! I'm way more sorry than you are!"

Shrugging them off, I grabbed the random blonde that was passing by and threw him at the two verbally quarrelling boys and ran for my life.

* * *

To my extreme luck, I was able to avoid the two boys at the academy by eating on the roof and watching as Naruto (as it was revealed to me that I had thrown him in my escape and made him crash land into Sasuke, which so then began the glorious and stupid rivalry that would end in missing arms) and Sasuke would piss each other off, but the latter would always drag Kiba into it so that the Inuzuka wouldn't have a chance to find me first.

Unfortunately, I was bombarded by the two of them when I returned home.

I had managed to see Sakura again, who actually had taken my advice and cut her hair which was reminiscent of her Shippuden self. She even asked me if there was anything else I knew to help her gain the attention of her dear crush. Seeing this as an opportunity, I rethought about influencing her to take being a ninja seriously and decided to do something else.

The whole dilemma of the two boys (plus Naruto) went on for the entire four months of my stay at the academy before the council had apparently decided to approve of my graduation on the condition that I wasn't on a four-man team, but an apprenticeship with my father. The reasons were because of their belief that I would be more efficient by myself and Kuroi would need to concentrate fully on me instead of splitting his attention between three genin. Since my father was a trusted Taidana shinobi who was loyal to the Leaf and he had already revoked his status as an ANBU to become a jounin, it was already decided that he would take me on as an apprentice and teach me how to control myself and my spirit.

I was not blind to the obvious wariness they had of me. However, I was happy to know that my father would take me on as an apprentice officially and it would only be me. No annoying genin whom I would be forced to protect simply because they would be my teammates.

Still, it was annoying to think of just how weak-willed Hiruzen was when it came to his so called old friends. This softness meant that Orochimaru (who was badass and will continue to be, however he was a very real threat ever since I was born into this world) had lived when he could've died; that the Uchiha clan would die when they could live. It pissed me off and I had to hide my resentment from him whenever I saw him.

I had wondered about the history of the Taidana for a while, wondering why people were so apprehensive about them despite the whole spirit corruption thing. It was curious as to how it even happened. So I asked Jin.

**'It was a deal made between the Taidana and the keeper of my own clan's spirits…' **he began as I sat and waited patiently for him to continue. **'The Taidana were as old as the Uchiha and the Senju… however… like other clans… they were insignificant compared to those two… but they wanted to be significant… unfortunately, not much was special about them even though it was easy to tell who was a member of the clan…' **

_'So, even the Taidana have some traits like the Uchiha do with their raven hair and black eyes_?' I had asked, curious.

**'Taidanas had tanned skin… black-brown eyes and black hair… after bonding with spirits… it became common to have dark markings under their eyes even though they don't have bags… it was almost like a symbol to show that they had their spirit because of mental rest deprivation… since they are physically well-rested… there aren't bags… however their minds were always on and so the markings developed like the seals on their bodies… there was another marking of the clan… the fang-like marking that ran across one of their cheeks… this was rare and no one seemed to understand why it occurred… so they summed it up to be a work from the spirits…'**

I had looked in the mirror to see my own little markings appear, basically forcing anyone walking by to take notice of my eyes first. I cringed. _'How did the Taidana make the deal?' _

**'The elder of the clan was on the verge of death… but he kept praying and praying for a miracle to happen with his clan before his death… so the keeper of my clan's spirits had heard him enough to pay a visit before death had fully claimed the man… with the most obvious price for this lethal partnership being the elder's life… the deal was sealed…' **

Jin began to play with my hair as my world became the view of the sea. **'Naïve and unable to completely control the spirits who were malevolent… the clans went to make their name known whether it was good or bad… many were cut down… unable to fully harness the powers of an otherworldly being… those who survived had decided to revive their numbers by creating offspring… with clan restrictions that was also a reason for their downfall… the Uchiha found the clan by chance… which caused an unlikely alliance to form…' **

_'And they weren't mentioned in canon because…?' _

**'They destroyed themselves soon after Konohagakure was created… unable to control themselves and live a peaceful life with others… they brought their own deaths upon them… only a few were allowed to live… those who were blessed with benevolent spirits… any others were cut down or had left the village… they were treated like criminals… so most of them had left as well… leaving even fewer… so to answer your question… I would assume it was because it was presumed that they were extinct…' **

_'Interesting.' _

**'Your father had earned Konohagakure's trust when his parents began to become hostile against the village… by killing them and the few who would've joined them… it's really no wonder that they are wary and treat you as though you're a criminal…' **

The news of my father having murdered his own family had certainly shocked me. I wouldn't have hesitated killing my former family, not for a second, however the thought of killing the family I had now… I couldn't. My face scrunched up in anger as I thought about the village. _'Always about the fucking village… protecting faceless people… why?'_

**'There are those who value all human life…' **

I felt my anger rise. _'Tch.' _

As much as I felt my dislike for Konoha grow, I opened my eyes to find myself in the real world, a Konoha hitai-ate in my hands. I frowned at it, pulling at the blue material to replace it with black. This signified my false loyalty to the village… I would pretend that I cared until that would no longer be a good idea.

After sewing the black material onto the metal part, I tied it around my neck and looked into the mirror. My eyes, which stood out before anything else, allowed me to take in my appearance.

My fingerless gloves, the tank top underneath my dark grey hoodie, my baggy pants and my ninja sandals were black. The sleeves of my hoodie were pushed up to my elbows, showing the bandages around my forearms. I had also wrapped bandages around my shins so that they wouldn't flap around everywhere and be a bother.

I had my tanto that Kuroi had gotten me for my birthday strapped horizontally across my lower back, above the few dark pouches that held a few necessities. My kunai holster was attached to my left leg.

Putting the hood over my head, I blinked and stared at my reflection again. My reflection morphed into Jin, whose large hand was pressed against the surface of the glass like my one little one was. A grin found its way to my lips as our thoughts were in sync.

We couldn't wait for the blood to be spilled, for the heads to roll, the screams to echo in my ears… being a ninja wasn't all sunshine and rainbows as Naruto had thought, it was brutal and lethal. It was magnificent and inhumane…

I loved it.

* * *

**OMAKE**

The small girl quietly shut the door of the apartment, green eyes looking around cautiously for a sign of her mother. She removed her shoes and placed her bag on the table, thinking of when would be a good time to ask her dad such a personal question.

As she was searching the fridge for a secret treat, her heart nearly burst out of her chest when a pair of hands grabbed her by the waist and lifted her into the air. A shriek escaped her before she heard the familiar jovial laughter of her father.

"Tou-san!" Sakura laughed, though she had a mock of a frown on her face as she hugged him. "You scared me!"

"Sorry, my little blossom! I couldn't resist. Kaa-san wouldn't be happy to see you trying to sneak in a treat." he chuckled, setting her down and taking a seat at the table. His daughter blushed as she realised she was caught.

"Where is she, by the way?" the girl asked, looking around again just in case she came with her dad.

"Out getting groceries." he replied, his smile upon his lips as per usual. "How was the academy?"

Sakura blinked, suddenly remembering the events of earlier. She began to fidget before closing the fridge door. "About that, tou-san… there was something I wanted to ask you…"

"Go on then, my blossom!" Kizashi chuckled, grabbing the girl and setting her on his lap. "I'll do my best to answer you."

"Why did you quit being a ninja?" she asked softly, doing her best to shield her eyes with her bangs. Sakura knew that it was a sensitive subject, but she had to know. She needed to know.

The male Haruno stared at his daughter for a minute. Where had the question come from, he thought. Something must've happened at the academy for such a question to pop up. Still, instead of asking why his daughter asked, he began to think on how to formulate his answer.

"Well, you see…" he began, rubbing his chin with his free hand. "I... I was preparing for the chuunin exams, practicing with my teammates. I was going to try out a big new jutsu that I had learned on my teammate, so I could surprise the others." a hollow chuckle erupted from his throat. "It... worked... but not in the way I wanted it to. It messed up and before I knew it... I had killed my own teammate." his voice was strained as was the smile on his face, his daughter gasping in horror. "The rest of my team never talked to me again... I... I couldn't go on being a ninja after that... it was shameful to wear the hitai-ate after what I had done... so I quit."

"Tou-san... I'm... I'm so sorry." Sakura apologised, lips turned down in a frown as her eyes were lined with unshed tears.

"Unfortunately, my blossom… being a ninja means you'll always run the risk of losing your life, whether it is by an enemy or even an ally." Kizashi replied truthfully. "But I don't want this to deter you from being one if you really want to." he added as an afterthought, smiling cheerfully at her.

The small child shook her head fervently. "Tou-san… I don't think I want to be a ninja anymore." she muttered, looking down as if she was almost ashamed of herself. "Someone told me today… what it would be like to be a ninja and I didn't want to quit… so she told me to ask someone who stopped being a ninja and then think about it."

"Who was it?" he questioned with a frown. "You don't have to listen to them, as long as you want to be a ninja, no one can stop you."

Sakura's face scrunched up. "I thought about it, tou-san. I don't think I'm cut out to be a ninja… I don't want to be in the academy anymore…"

There was a moment of silence between father and daughter. "Okay, blossom. I'll talk to your mother about it when she gets home."

* * *

**A/N: **The fourth member of team seven _will_ be a canon character. Reviews are love. Reviews are life. It's never ogre.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Chapter five; REVISED. The entire chapter is in third person from mostly Kuroi's view. Thanks to my beta, Senior Coq-on-Face the Third.

* * *

Kuroi stared at his former ANBU teammate, who had become a jounin due to the concern of his mental health. He never took the death of his sensei and his sensei's wife well. Over the years though, he was slowly but steadily relaxing a little more. The Taidana had hoped that he and his own family had a small part in it.

Both were rather withdrawn, stoic, capable and renowned shinobi… both had an intense passion for the Icha Icha series. Although Kuroi was the one who introduced the series to the uptight male who was eleven years his junior, the other former ANBU captain had grown to love it with equal intensity. They were lend each other copies of the series after they had finished.

The thought of him first introducing it was amusing, however he couldn't smile as he also felt the annoyance of the current situation he was in.

As expected, his daughter had managed to graduate on her first try, successfully shovelling through all the materials she had to learn in a mere four months. He was her shishou, strategically chosen to teach her the ways of their clan as well as to keep her under control. Kakashi would also help, as he was forced to take on a genin team in the future and also taking part in Kuroki's learning would build up his experience with teaching. Both were lightning users, with their student also having that affinity. Plus, he had an arsenal of jutsu thanks to his sharingan.

Kuroi's main concern would have to have been if Kakashi could handle Kuroki for so long. He had met and spoken with her before, but those times didn't show much of Kuroki's personality. However unique her appearance was, it was nothing compared to the intensity her contact-covered eyes had. The markings under her eyes only made them even more so. She looked at others as though she could see through their entire being, analysing them like a predator. The few times she and the copy-nin met, she was blind. Though meeting her again when she had regained her vision had been rare, her father could tell her gaze was especially intense on silver-haired man, acting as though she knew him right down to the very core.

Even though they were currently at a distance, in hiding and watching the girl sit at a bench with the silver canine at her side, Kuroi knew that she unnerved the younger man. She unnerved many, of course, what with her unique thought process and appearance, many thought her creepy and mentally unstable. Perhaps it was true, but it could be argued that it was simply a trait of the Taidana.

She turned her head into their direction, spotting them easily. Her father smirked in pride as his companion became rigid. Her tracking was superb. Whether or not their chakra signatures were hidden, she had other means of finding them every time.

Kuroi knew his daughter was different from others, from even what was left of his own clan. He knew what it looked like when a Taidana was possessed by their own spirit, so he knew that his daughter had thankfully not died and was still in control of her body. Even so, most Taidana kids did not act like adults, did not _not_ react nearly at all when he figured out that she was hiding something. Even Kuroto and Kuroda acted their age more often than not, despite their obvious prodigious talent.

Most children in general did not have eyes of an experienced shinobi, not before they had even become a ninja and had their first kill.

He knew that Kakashi was more than likely fretting about the bundle of weirdness that was his daughter despite the deceptively calm look on that masked face. So many mysteries that surrounded her, it would be difficult not to get a headache with all of the thoughts.

A small smile made its way to his lips, it would be interesting to see how the Hatake would handle two Taidanas at the same time.

* * *

Kuroki was currently deep in concentration, a mild frown on her face as she worked to gather her concealed chakra. Her chakra control was deemed sufficient enough to try and attempt the current task. Shiruba, who was usually stuck to the girl at the hip, was at the Inuzuka compound, going through his own form of training. So it was just the three of them in the training ground.

Kakashi had noted many things about his comrade's nine-year-old daughter. She loved her father, sincerely and fiercely… but she didn't allow herself to properly accept Kuroi's affections. Yes, she made those small but genuine smiles when he would praise her, but she would never hug him or anything except a few head pats. The copy-nin knew the elder Taidana, so he could see the subtle signs that the father wanted to hug his daughter and show his affection for her more obviously. It was like she felt she wasn't worthy of such affection and love, which baffled them both.

Kuroki was quiet, but not because she was shy. Her tone was mostly of three variations; impassive, bored or irritated. She was polite in only the barest of ways, often keeping people at a distance. She laughed if she found something amusing, but it was hardly innocent fun that caused her to laugh. There was an air about her, that he felt was rather eerie and creepy. It seemed to automatically put her away from others, reminiscent of the way most prodigies were treated.

He himself, along with Uchiha Itachi and even Kuroi were placed in the category of prodigies. Even the twins held an unmistakable air around them, signifying their superiority. The unapproachable air was just something they all seemed to have.

At the Hokage's and Kuroi's request, he had not informed anyone of Kuroki's bonding with her spirit. He had wondered why she herself never brought it up, curious to know everything about the bonds from her experienced father. Kuroi himself never really addressed it either, like they were skirting around the issue and merely hinting at it without actually addressing it.

Kakashi was sure his friend was worrying endlessly about the possibility of his eldest child becoming like his parents, that if the council or someone equally dangerous knew, they would do all they could to make sure she wasn't a threat to Konoha. Mostly, that would entail restricting many things for her, which is something he knew she didn't like.

After spending so much time with her, teaching her and having to get to know her, Kakashi found out that Kuroki only valued the lives of those she cared about. Everyone else, the entire village even, she wouldn't have cared if children were burning or if women were being raped. It was highly disturbing because as skewed as he was, he still had an understanding of morals. His conversation with her about the topic of morals was worrying, indeed.

"Kuroki-san." Kakashi called the girl after one of their usual training sessions. She turned back, a shadow over her eyes thanks to that hoodie that only added to her general creepiness. "I have a question for you, if you don't mind."

She raised a brow, tilting her head and waiting for him to continue. He rubbed the back of his neck absentmindedly before setting his hand by his side, his gaze becoming serious as hers narrowed slightly.

"Do you value human life?" he asked, trying to keep the awkwardness and randomness of the question out of his tone. His eyes noted the thinning of her lips, before a decidedly predatory grin formed.

"I value the lives of those I care about." she replied, her gaze piercing into his own like daggers. She placed her gloves hands in her pockets, taking up a casual stance.

"And the village?" he inquired, trying to analyse her words.

The girl shrugged lackadaisically. "My family lives here. I have to protect it." she responded, her tone bored.

"If they didn't live here?" he continued on, stepping forward as his eyes narrowed at her.

There was a knowing glint in her eyes, setting him on edge. She knew what he was trying to get at, but apparently she saw no need in lying. "Well, Kakashi… I wouldn't be from the village then, would I?" she gave him a seemingly harmless smile, then turned and began to walk off, waving back lazily.

He also noted the times when she would be by herself, staring off into space before she would abruptly smile. A slight snicker here or there even. It didn't look entirely sane either, since it wasn't simple laughter or smiles, but there was an undertone of something darker… something menacing.

Kakashi sighed, it was surely a trait of the Taidana clan. Befriending Kuroi was a unique experience… teaching his daughter was just as unique. Unique, but not exactly easy.

* * *

Locating Kuroi and Kakashi was easy for the young Taidana. It didn't matter if they hid their chakra, threw her sense of smell off, somehow, she would find them. It was impressive, but even so, she still wasn't on par with them when it came to combat. They were bigger, stronger, faster, more durable and more experienced.

Kuroi brought down his katana, eyes narrowing slightly when his daughter managed to tumble out of the way, only a bit of her hair sliced off as she disappeared into the trees. Automatically, he threw several kunai in the direction she went, the two jounin expecting her to jump out or even move to another hidden location rather unsubtly. Instead, the black-haired jounin turned to find his daughter tumbling roughly along the ground before stopping abruptly with a trail of dust in her wake.

Sheathing his weapon, both Kakashi and Kuroi made their way to the blank-faced girl before standing above her with varying expressions.

"Your shunshin is a little… off." the silver-haired copy-nin commented with a slight cringe. He'd never seen such a terrible fail of the shunshin until then.

Kuroki's expression turned into a scowl. "No, really? I hadn't noticed." she drawled sarcastically, sitting up and beginning to dust herself off. Standing up, she began to shake her head roughly, the two older men watching as the dust particles left her dark mane. "I'm going to have to do something about my hair." she muttered.

"We're going to have to work on that and a few other things then," her father stated, running a hand through his own hair. Turning to his colleague he asked, "Are you going to be busy for the next few days?"

Kakashi nodded. "I have a mission tomorrow. A-rank. It should take about a week or so, I think." he informed them.

"I suppose it'll be just us two, then," Kuroi commented softly, "I guess we can ask for our own mission. B-rank, perhaps?" he glanced at his daughter to see her frowning at him.

"Isn't that a bit too high for my skill level?" she asked skeptically, folding her arms.

Her father's eyes softened slightly. "You know that they banned you from doing any D-ranks, so you only have C-ranks and B-ranks. It's not that much different than a C-rank, really." he explained, petting Kuroki's head gently. It was one of the only ways he was allowed to be affectionate to her.

The young genin averted her eyes, ignoring the look from the silver-haired male. She was even worse than he was when he was a child, so much so that she actually managed to get herself banned from D-ranks. It was impressive in a weird way. Then again, comrades that couldn't work together weren't really comrades at all.

"Alright, Kakashi, you better go and get ready for your mission." Kuroi walked up to his comrade and placed his hand on the younger man's shoulder. "Kuroki and I will work on some things ourselves. Good luck."

Kakashi's eye wrinkled, implicating his smile. "Thanks, I'll see you guys later."

* * *

Her laughter echoed throughout the forest, gleeful killing intent saturating the area. The bloodied and mattered body underneath her had long since lost its life, but she continued to mutilate it… uncaring of the red filth that continued to escape the hunk of meat and splatter onto her form.

There was a severed arm to her left, a few fingers scattered amongst the grass. Shit, there was even a bit of a leg that looked like it had been crudely cut off just behind her. Two other bodies were splayed about, more intact than the one she had been stabbing at.

It had been so long… so long that she may have gone just a little overboard. It wasn't her fault that they came at her, separating her from her father and threatening her life. There was a kunai embedded in her side, though she paid it no attention as she finally… finally ceased her deranged actions.

Standing, her eyes finally took in her masterpiece. It was barely recognisable as a human, more resembling minced meat instead. Her tanto was bathed in the colour of red, gripped so tightly that her own blood might have been mixed into it.

Jin was chuckling within her mind, he too enthralled by the taste of murder once again. It had been so long for the both of them. In his mental plane, he watched as the sea became tainted with red; the sky darkening to night as the moon rose above him and shone down at the land below. Fireflies began to flitter about, one landing in his open palm and pulsing steadily with light. He brought the firefly closer to his chest, long talon-like finger curling around the creature.

She was happy dancing in the darkness with him, happy to remain there as her precious ones lived in the light. For she had him, and he her.

Kuroki had forgotten the pure bliss she felt after each kill. She felt as though she could see this new world with clarity, remembering one of her more important reasons for living.

Still, she felt as though she spent too much time playing around. It was fortunate that there was a river nearby that she could wash herself with before going to find her father. They had unexpectedly been separated so far apart that he still hadn't found her.

By the time she had found her father, the young Taidana was squeaky clean and in such a pleasant mood that it was the most surprising thing that Kuroi had encountered in a long time. Kuroki was often found in a neutral mood; she could be amused and genuinely happy for a moment before it would return back to neutrality. Never had he seen her in a mood where she is genuinely happy for more than five minutes.

He found himself at first unable to feel joy for the fact that his daughter was finally showing a positive demeanour, since the stench of blood and guts was infuriatingly strong in his nose and her happiness felt… wrong. It worried him. Kuroi knew that she must've killed the few bandits that had managed separate them… he chose not to address it.

Though, as the day went on, the older Taidana found himself smiling slightly whenever he saw his daughter smile genuinely to whatever it was he said. The positivity was worrying indeed due to the mysterious causes of it, which seemed like something he should report to his village… but as a father, seeing his child like that had hit something within him; something that wanted him to keep her possible mental instability a secret from the council.

Taidana Kuroi was an extremely loyal Konoha shinobi… but he was also a father. He could only hope that if they were to deem Kuroki a threat to the village, they wouldn't force him or anyone to dispose of her. Doing such a deed to your own family for the safety of the village was something he didn't want to have to experience again.

* * *

As the months went by, Kuroi often saw Kiba and Sasuke barging into the house together, making their way to Kuroki's room and creating general chaos as most kids do. Of course, the twins were fiercely protective of their elder sister, so they would often do their best to interfere.

It brought joy to both him and Aonami, seeing the four of them care so deeply about their daughter. Of course, Kuroki had a hard time admitting that she cared about them. He could see her trying to keep her distance, but in the end she would be swept up into their pace and would find herself falling deeper into the pit of attachment.

Itachi would on the rare occasion, visit her. He could see the small boy be steadily weighed down by his clan, but still made time to visit her when he could. There was some kind of understanding and respect that the two had for each other, a sense of relaxation whenever they were in each other's presence. He supposed that prodigies tended to gravitate towards one another since they were in a similar boat. After all, Itachi was still a child even if he was the Uchiha clan's heir and a prodigy.

Regarding clans, Kuroi had been asked if he wanted to revive the Taidana clan with him at the head since his family now had five members; the minimal amount of persons needed for a clan. He was surprised by this development, after all, it would mean that Kuroki would be the heiress and would have to take his place after he would resign… unless they made one of the twins the heir by somehow bypassing her with an excuse like her gender. He decided that he might as well, if only to somehow redeem what was left of his heritage.

Other than that, Kuroki's training had been improving steadily. She was flexible, allowing her to learn the different fighting styles he was teaching with a little more ease. Her speed was always something that she had excelled at, but he knew she could always be faster; there was a reason for her weights after all. Genjutsu was useless for her to learn, since she was completely immune to it and unable to use it in anyway. Her aim was something that had some obvious flaws, since she felt more comfortable being at a close range. Strength was something she moderately had, nothing ground breaking but her hits did leave nasty bruises; something else her weights had a use for. Her chakra control had gone up to a level where she was able to mould her chakra into lightning chakra. She was able to release it through the tenketsu in her hands, though it was relatively small and left only a mildly numbing sensation along with an unnatural one.

Lightning chakra was usually blue in colour, but Kuroki's was a mix of dark blue with patches of black. The unnatural feeling he got from it was invading and dark, implicating that the cause was her spirit. It was extremely rare for such a thing to happen within the clan, though it did occur. Kuroi remembered vaguely about his mother telling him that chakra colour changing when doing elemental ninjutsu usually happened when an impure spirit and the Taidana had a bond that was stronger than most. It usually happened when both the spirit and Taidana were content and balanced in their bond; no domination on either side. The stronger the bond, the darker the elemental chakra would become. Eventually, Kuroki's lightning would become a complete black, but for now it looked rather sickly with its colour variation.

He wasn't sure if he should've been proud or worried. Although, she wasn't able to do much with lightning techniques since she was rather green with it so he decided that it wasn't really much of a big deal. It wasn't like the Third Raikage's famed Black Lightning, as his lightning chakra was usually blue but he was able to somehow shift its form so that it was black. For Kuroki, it was like normal lightning chakra for another, only with the otherworldly feeling.

Kuroki liked to hold her tanto in a way that allowed her to not only punch her opponent, but also cut them as she swings her arm; the blade along her forearm with a firm grip. It reminded him vaguely of Asuma, so he had decided to give her another one so she could make use of both hands.

Ever since she was young, Kuroi had always noticed the strangely professional air she held around her when training. Some moves he taught her were executed with the finesse of a veteran, her exhales and inhales quick and much quieter than the war cries of children starting out in ninja training. It almost felt as though she naturally already knew some things about combat, no matter how much her tiny body caused her to mess up constantly.

It felt like it was yesterday, when she had turned three and asked him to teach her how to be a ninja. It was June… her tenth birthday had already passed and he already felt so old, felt like she was growing up too fast. Hell, even the twins were to be three soon and already wanted to start training.

For her birthday, the young Taidana received multiple gifts. Kuroi gave her a multitude of storage scrolls along with a pair of modified tanto that was made to allow chakra infusion. Aonami gave her a necklace with a tight, black and thin rope with five black magatama beads attached. The one in the middle had a blue, illuminate tinge that looked like the night sky. It signified each member of their family. The twins gave her a picture that included the three siblings sitting at the top of the Hokage mountain, Kuroto and Kuroda trying to both sit on her lap as a surprisingly soft smile was gracing their elder sister's lips. It was taken by Aonami, who had also gotten the dark picture frame. Kuroki tried her best to ignore the horribly pleasant feeling in her chest, but it was of no use. The picture stood at her desk along with the other pictures of her family and even the Inuzuka and Uchiha families. Kiba gave her a coupon that allowed her free meat dishes (one per week) for a year whilst Sasuke gave her black bandages that were of high quality, remembering her complaint of normal bandages being too bright. On Itachi's behalf, the small Uchiha had also given her a medicinal liquid in a moderately sized bottle and a card wishing her happy birthday and an apology for missing her birthday.

Kuroi was suspecting that his daughter may have been a bit of a tsundere, what with the way she tried to seem uncaring to the attention and gifts she had received.

* * *

Kuroi nominated Kuroki for the chuunin exams in Sunagakure, her temporary team was left without a third member since one of them caught a fever and was unable to attend. Their sensei had decided to leave the two of them to the tan man. Kakashi was already too busy to attend, whilst Aonami and the twins had to remain at home since the three-year-olds wouldn't be able to deal with the abrupt change in climate very well.

The other teams from Konohagakure that had been nominated to participate in the chuunin exams moved as a group, with Shiruba, Kuroki and Kuroi included. The other teams and even her own teammates had stayed clear of her and the (in)famous Lightning Dragon. Perhaps it was because of their reputations, perhaps it was simply because they tended to naturally radiate an unapproachable aura and a fierce and large but still growing wolfish canine with them.

Each village participating had a building of their own, to avoid any funny business that could happen within the building if they were all situated together. Basically ignoring her teammates, Kuroki and Shiruba had decided to explore since the meeting place for the exams was not for another two days.

Kakashi, before leaving for his mission, had gifted her with a flexible, black, half-mask shirt that was not unlike his own. It fit her since it was one of his old ones, it was also comfortable so she wore it under her hoodie and had the half-mask covering her lower face; her unique eyes still in view for the world to see. Her hood was over her head, giving her a dark and frankly shady look as she made her way through the sandy streets.

She had found a good vantage point, making her way to sit atop it with her companion right beside her. Dark eyes took in the village and its startling lack of colour, the villagers bland and rather boring-looking. There were a few foreign ninja, more than likely genin teams that came to participate in the chuunin exams.

**'Gaara could be here you know…' **Jin whispered to his Taidana, chuckling softly when her eyes widened in realisation.

_'That's true,' _she replied mentally, _'he'd be seven now, wouldn't he? That means he'd already be fucked up from his uncle attempting to murder him.' _she finished, standing up and jumping down to the ground below to find something to eat.

**'He'd be quite the sparring partner…' **Jin commented as the young Taidana dodged a hurrying mother.

_'I don't think we're good enough to take on his sand yet.' _Kuroki replied, spying a shop that sold salted tongue across from her.

She felt her spirit's disappointment as he tone became even softer. **'Shame…' **

Curious to the taste of salted tongue, the tanned girl walked in, uncaring of the looks she received as she made her way to the counter where her tiny form barely reached its height. The server was a surprisingly intimidating dude, towering over her. His eyes softened upon meeting her eyes, even though she looked like shady kid playing ninja.

"Hey, kid. What can I get you?" he asked, voice soft as though she might've flinched if he raised his voice any louder. In fact, she might have because of her superior senses, but he probably thought he was scaring her. Briefly, Kuroki wondered if the guy was unable to read people's characters at all.

"Can I have four original salted tongues, please?" she requested, blinking as he smiled and she paid for her order. At least he was nice, she supposed.

The small Taidana was situated on a swing in an empty park, her large companion at her feet as the container full of cooked tongues from god knows whatever creature in her lap. Her canine was able to actually try it, unlike her, who was so rudely interrupted by a deranged little redhead randomly appearing in a whirl of sand.

The stench of blood was a natural scent for her, as if it were normal to smell like someone had bathed in the blood of their enemies (which wasn't far from the truth in her case); the jinchuriki of the Ichibi had stunk of that very scent so intensely that she had to scrunch her nose at the overdose.

Shiruba immediately became hostile and defensive until his partner calmed him with a gentle hush and a pat on the head. She honestly hadn't expected to see the little psychopath at all in her little trip to the desert, and really… she didn't feel like trying to interact with him.

Gaara had reacted just like the silver canine, though the only movement of his form was a narrowed pair of sea foam eyes. The sand around him shifted dangerously, he hadn't been able to notice either of their presences until he saw them firsthand.

Kuroki stood, placing the food she had bought onto her previous seat as the tension wafting off of him heightened at her movement. For a moment, they merely stared at one another, waiting for the other to make a move. Kuroki broke their staring competition by waving her hand dismissively and placing them into her pockets, turning away and leaving the area with the silver dog trailing after her.

Once her form disappeared from his view, the little redhead somehow found himself standing in front of the swing that the dark girl had been sitting on; her food left behind. Tentatively, he opened the container, which revealed three original salted tongues that he found to be still warm.

The repressed child within him told him to take the food, which had been left behind and would only go to waste if he left it there. He found himself doubting that a kunoichi of Konohagakure would attempt to assassinate him, as well as search up what kinds of food he liked.

Since the shops never served him and his so-called siblings didn't bother to try and do something as nice as pick up food for him (which would only cause heated glares and angry suspicions), little Gaara grabbed the food and left in a swirl of sand.

* * *

Kuroki and her temporary teammates didn't make chuunin.

The exams went on for three weeks, where they had three stages. The first was a written test that was horribly long and boring; the second was three days trying to survive in a cave made entirely of sand with other teams trying to kill you until there were only three teams left; then the third was individual fights.

Whilst she had managed to complete the first test with ease, even if it was boring and torturous, it was the second test that really signified why she shouldn't have been promoted to chuunin. Kuroki was horrible at teamwork. They didn't get along with her and she didn't get along with them, it was bound to end horribly. All three managed to survive, although one of them would probably never be able to properly be a ninja again. Kuroki protected her teammates from dying since the only way to pass was to have all members of the team alive.

Another reason was her unrestrained urges for homicide. She was too sadistic, becoming lost in her fun and losing sight of the current goal of the 'mission'. It didn't matter if her victims were merely preteens or just barely adolescents, she killed them either way. The damage they caused her both infuriated her and fuelled her on until they were nothing but sacks of the dead.

The final test also showed the judges just how brutal she was. Kuroki didn't go for the quickest and most efficient way to incapacitate or end an opponent, showing a level head and good strategising; she went for the most sadistic way, playing with her opponent like a doomed toy. Though her crazed grin was well hidden, her killing intent was heavy and almost palpable.

In a real mission, she would be too enamoured with destroying her opponents than completing the mission. A capable fighter and intelligent indeed, but her priorities lied elsewhere. So she and her team failed to become chuunin, and whilst the young Taidana didn't seem too worried at first with her pleasant mood, she had increasingly got more pissed off that she made an effort to protect her temporary teammates and there was no payoff. Kuroi wasn't too worried for the entire time, they could try again next time, however he decided that it would be a good idea to set her temporary team up beforehand to build teamwork.

Upon arriving back at their well-kept home, Kuroi was nowhere to be seen as Kuroki entered her room through her window. Tsume, Mikoto, Sasuke and Kiba were over, so it was no wonder her father had abruptly disappeared without a trace. She would've ignored their presence to go and take a shower, but before she could, her door was slammed open to reveal her twin brothers.

As Kuroda and Kuroto toddled hurriedly over to her, ignoring the amusement from her canine companion who just jumped through the window to reluctantly greet the twins. It was a strange thing, the twins being able to tell when she was around despite her masked chakra.

Sasuke and Kiba had appeared at her door only minutes later, greeting her as well in their own ways.

After managing to finally pry herself away from the four boys to finally have a shower and clean herself up, she went downstairs to greet the three mothers. Holding Kuroto in her arms since he had been pushed by his brother and was currently doing his best to hold in the tears, although unsuccessfully, she made herself known.

"That delectable ass Kuroi still won't show his face when I'm around, huh?" Tsume barked with laughter after greeting the man's daughter. She seemed oblivious or uncaring of the disgusted looks of the children.

"Delectable, Ume?" Aonami raised an amused brow. "You haven't had his ass for years now."

"Wait, what?" Kuroki blurted out, horrified. Her eyes shifted to Tsume. "You mean you and dad were in a relationship? Is that why he avoids you like the plague?" she asked.

The three women laughed in sync, having a riot whilst the three children over the age of four were drawing their own conclusions with looks of horror.

"One time thing, kid. Nothing as committed as that." Tsume waved a hand and leaned back in her chair. "This was before your mother, but I managed to leave him with some memories that he'll never forget."

If their faces (minus the twins) didn't show their deep set horror, Kiba decided to make his opinion known by gagging. "Ew, kaa-chan! That's super gross!"

His mother raised an intrigued brow. "Since when did you understand implications, brat?" she asked, glancing at the ten-year-old beside him. Of course she knew it was her, the kid was too… grown up and she was bound to rub off on the other young and impressionable boys.

"Kuroki has a habit of using big words and being subtle, so this happens." Sasuke answered for him, closing his eyes and doing his best to wipe the expression off his face as he consciously shoved his hands in his pockets.

Kuroki didn't respond as the surprisingly quiet Kuroda grabbed at her leg when Kuroto made a point to snuggle against his sister triumphantly.

"I want up too!" Kuroda exclaimed, jumping eagerly whilst his sister sighed.

* * *

Kuroki's control over her chakra had improved to the point that she was able to channel her lightning chakra into her tantos, as well as weakly release it through her left leg. It wasn't all that strong, though it gave him a sense of unnerving and Kuroi felt that she was holding back. After all, her brow was always deeply furrowed when he sparred with her, as though she was concentrating intensely on not grievously injuring her father.

Her fighting style was unique, somewhat familiar and yet looked foreign at the same time. Her body turned into a deadly weapon as she twisted and danced around her opponent before going in for precise kicks and punch combos. There was a small sense of grace in her movement that most experienced killers had, though with her grace was a feeling of a restrained monster that wasn't allowed to indulge herself.

The chakra weights did their best to throw her off, as they were increasingly became heavier as time went. She trained like a demon to get used to them as soon as possible, where a certain man in green had helped in his spare time.

Kakashi had introduced her to Might Guy one time, which caused a slight rivalry between the two when Kuroki became thoroughly interested in the green beast's physical prowess and how he had such a personality that allowed him to be so physically powerful. The silver-haired nin was finding himself opening up to the small Taidana however slowly.

It was hard to treat her as a child, so he didn't. When he had accidentally told her of some painful memories on a drunken night of guilt, he was surprised to see that all she did was listen. There was no scathing words about what a screw up he was like he expected, definitely no comforting words of bullshit that he definitely did not; just her presence. She may have mentioned that she was a seer, something that he thought was a joke that she attempted to try out in his state. Then she tucked him in to his bed after cleaning him up, acting as though she had done so before to the point of ease even though he knew neither of her parents drunk. Then she left and he woke up the next morning, trying to steel himself for the day. It wasn't long until he found out that she wasn't bullshitting him at all when she said she was a seer, unless he decided to believe that his Hokage was high and not in his right mind.

Her appearance around the village no longer caused people to refer to her as 'Dead Eyes' anymore, as it was a title that mostly the children used and she was easily forgotten as they spent their youthful days worrying about other things. Her killing intent was never felt since she was able to reign it in, it was enough to glare at anyone she didn't particularly like. To one person she disliked with a passion, she ignored his presence entirely now.

The days would blur together. Jin, to her surprise, was able to materialise in the real world even though nobody but her could see and touch him. He would be leaning against a wall that she would pass by, then he would be standing somehow nearby as she would pass by that too. He was like a black, unrefined version of slender man with the suit and tendrils; something that he found unamusing. He had no interest in targeting children.

Jin was obviously not a pure spirit, and though he was more on the corrupted side, he was able to coexist with his little Taidana with ease. He would seek out her voice whenever he liked and she would respond. To know that he had someone to talk to, to cling to and to spend time with caused a strong feeling of possessiveness within him. Jin was alone for so long that he planned to never allow Kuroki leave him, even if she were to one day no longer desire him.

There were days where he had to leave her alone though, let her mind and body sleep so that she wouldn't have to go to the hospital because her mind was unable to control her body. In those moments, he would go through her memories of her old life. Many moments in her life infuriated him, made him want to tear apart the wretches that harmed his dear Kuroki; but then he remembered that if it wasn't for them, she wouldn't have become like how she was now. She wouldn't have become his perfect partner and that made him somewhat thankful for the people that messed up her life. He felt no guilt in thinking that.

Shiruba was fully grown now, large enough that she and another child could ride on the silver canine. Though he couldn't speak, he could communicate with Kuroki without so much as a word since the two had been taught by the Inuzukas themselves how to do so. They were partners, backing each other up and protecting each other when needed. Usually, Shiruba would allow himself to hang back until he felt he was needed, which was a good set up for the both of them.

The two of them both worked on water-walking, which was all well and good until they had to actually fight. Shiruba was still able to last longer than her, which often caused a playful water fight until the both of them got reprimanded for not paying attention to training.

* * *

Kuroki sat on the couch with her legs crossed, Shiruba sitting in front of her with his head in her lap as she was petting him absent-mindedly. Kuroi sat beside her, leaning against the arm rest with the usual book series in his hand, Kakashi standing but leaning over to look at the pages himself.

Morino Ibiki stood off to the side, looking at the seemingly relaxed group with narrowed eyes. However, the tension and the irritation was almost palpable within the Hokage's office. Irritation that was mostly wafting off the only child in the room with them all feeling tense.

What was the point in telling them beforehand if they weren't able to change the course of things? She had pinned herself as a seer early on so they could fucking change things and yet nothing changed. They were unable to resolve it peacefully, which meant that Itachi (the fucking pacifist dickhead, Kuroki thought in a fit of negative emotions) was going to massacre his clan. Not only that, but Shisui had somehow decided to follow in his little cousin's footsteps instead of having his eye ripped out and committing suicide. She should've kicked Itachi in the dick whilst she had the chance so that he wouldn't be able to so much as crawl. Then again, she was never really the type to kick guys in the dick unless they were trying to put it inside her.

"Why's your kid and her mutt here?" Ibiki questioned the older Taidana abruptly and bluntly, ignoring the growl from _both_ the kid and her so-called mutt.

"You'd think he'd be smart enough to figure it out, right Shiruba?" Kuroki snarled, her companion making a guttural sound of agreement. "His name is Shiruba, Ibiki_-san_. Call him a mutt again and you'll be on my shit list, no matter how much I respect your talents." she warned the man, sarcasm in her tone when she used the honorific.

Said man raised an eyebrow, looking to the feisty kid's father who didn't seemed bothered in the least that his child just swore and threatened to put the head of the T&amp;I on her shit list. Instead, he merely placed a hand on his daughter's head in a gesture of comfort.

"Excuse my daughter, she's rather protective of her partner." he said almost casually, not even looking up from his book even as Kakashi eyed the girl in mild exasperation. "You remember being told of someone being able to see the future."

Kuroki clicked her tongue in annoyance, frowning at Ibiki. "I see _a _future. I've mentioned this." she commented, before sighing and running a hand through her hair. She met the eyes of the horribly scarred man without a hint of fear. "I apologise for slighting your intelligence as I'm on edge. I don't apologise for threatening to put you on my shit list. One way to piss me off is to insult those I care about."

Ibiki found himself smirking. He decided that he approved of her maturity to apologise and of her fierce loyalty to her loved ones. "I accept the apology. Though not many who are twice your age have the balls to insult me whilst knowing who I am."

The tan girl smirked. "Brave or stupid, you pick which one I am."

That's when their Hokage finally decided to show up, silencing any response that Ibiki was going to make.

So the plan was to flashily protect the Uchiha clan from both Itachi and Shisui. The Hokage would show up with a small army, revealing that the village still valued them and whatnot. Frankly, Kuroki wasn't sure if that was a smart or stupid plan. They had two years to try and stop it, and this is what they came up with.

Well, there was really nothing that she could do. Though she was invisible to sensors, it didn't mean she was actually invisible and she doubted she was fast enough or strong enough to get Mikoto and Fugaku out of there in time before either of the two 'traitors' caught her. Hell, she didn't even know if Tobi was also helping.

So, all Kuroki could do was wait and see what happened. It was such a pain, caring about people.

* * *

**A/N: **Reviews are love. Reviews are life. It's never ogre.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Chapter six; REVISED. Apologies for being so late. This chapter feels a little short in my opinion, so sorry for that too. A longer author note will be at the bottom. Thank you my beta, Senior Coq-On-Face the Third.

* * *

I landed silently on the roof of the shop I planned on visiting, making the young ninja sitting on the edge flinch as he just noticed my presence. He was only a few years older than my physical age, with intensely yellow eyes looking at me with curiosity.

"Hello," he greeted, nodding at me as I jumped down in front of the entrance. I waved half-heartedly at him as I returned the greeting, before walking inside of the weapons shop that I frequently visited.

Akarimaru was the shop owner, who looked happy upon seeing me as his grey eyes brightened up. His son, Ryomaru was about the same age as my body and was sitting on the counter. Though his eyes were like his father's, he was definitely not happy to see me if his frown was any indication.

When I walked towards the counter, I raised an eyebrow at the boy who looked away pointedly, then returned my gaze onto his father. "Akarimaru. Hey." I greeted the middle-aged man with a head nod, a smile forming on his features.

"Hello, Kuroki-chan. It's nice to see you again." he replied, pushing off the counter to go to the back of the shop. "I'll bring your weapons out. Ryomaru," he eyed the boy, "play nice."

His son snorted, glancing at me with the frown still on his face. I glanced at him with a bored expression, raising an eyebrow in a subtle attempt to get him to speak his mind.

"I don't get why tou-san likes you so much," he said truthfully, frowning even more as he began to scrutinise my appearance, "you don't look like much."

"Perhaps I'm a regular customer, that buys the things he sells. Do you think it would be beneficial to treat a customer like shit?" I asked, unimpressed. "Don't you learn about manners in school?"

He scowled at me. "I dropped out of school to help tou-san." he bit out.

I blinked, smiling slightly in approval. "That's admirable of you."

Ryomaru's expression morphed into one of surprise, obviously taken off guard by my sincere words. Then his cheeks tinted pink as he finally registered the words, looking away and sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck, he replied. "... Thanks, I guess."

"You're welcome, but I admit I was surprised you knew what 'admirable' meant. Also, pink really isn't your colour, it kind of clashes with your hair." I commented with a smirk, finding amusement in the kid's reaction.

He sputtered indignantly before glaring at me. "Just because I'm not in school anymore doesn't mean I'm a dumbass! And I wasn't expecting it, okay?" he exclaimed with a harsh whisper, knowing that his father would be angry with him if he bothered the customers.

I merely smiled and didn't reply as I waited for my weapons.

Akarimaru reappeared with a pair of modified tantos only a few minutes later, the blades covered by black scabbards. He handed the weapons over to me as I eyed the hilts with interest. Unsheathing one of them, I stared at the black blade that was made of chakra infusing metal, sharp and deadly. It wasn't unlike the ones my father gave me, but the real difference would have to be the hilts, which were modified to be like knuckle dusters for extra damage. The finger holes were adjustable by chakra, so there was no worry for it not being able to fit. The joys of the Narutoverse, I thought.

"How do you like it?" he asked as I sheathed the weapon, an entirely pleased expression on my face. "I'm glad you like it, it was rather expensive and well worth the wait. I'm sure you'll put them to good use."

"Thank you, Akarimaru. I'll definitely put them to good use." I smiled sincerely, before bidding the two of them farewell and leaving the store. I made my way to the training ground where I met Itachi, a small frown forming on my face when I thought of him. He was an idiot in my opinion.

I placed the two scabbards of my newly acquired weapons horizontally on my back, above the pair that my father had given me and unsheathed the blades. I slipped my fingers through the holes of the knuckle duster hilts, sending chakra into them and watching with mild fascination as they began to adjust to my fingers. Switching to lightning chakra, it filled the blades, sickly blue and black lightning lighting up my view.

I went through a few moves, testing how comfortable I felt with these new tantos. They were a bit heavy, but that was to be expected and I was confident that I would grow accustomed to the weight in no time. Experimentally, I jumped up and as the gravity pulled me back down, I geared my left arm to punch the ground. The result was a small crater with a little bit of smoke rising up; nothing like what Sakura was capable of, but it was enough to do some damage on a person.

I continued to practice until I was interrupted by my ninken's appearance. Putting my weapons away, I greeted the large canine with a genuine smile. "Hey, Shiruba. What have you been up to?" I asked him, petting behind his ears as his eyes stared pointedly at me with a guttural sound emitting from his throat. I raised a brow. "I was busy, maybe you're just getting lazy." I chuckled as he playfully bit my hand.

We began to walk down a street and I tried to ignore the concerned signals from my companion, but I unfortunately caved. Stopping, I turned to my companion who in turn also stopped and gave me a stare with his ice-coloured eyes. Reaching up to pet behind his ears, I gave him one of my softer expressions. "Don't worry too much about me…" I assured him in a soft voice, "I'll be fine after I do some more training. Okay?"

Shiruba whined, voicing his disbelief and displeasure but nudged my affectionately to show that he would leave it alone and support me. I smiled at him lovingly and hugged him. "Thank you Shiruba… I know you're worried but I can't say anything at the moment." I confessed sincerely, hugging him tighter as I was reminded that Shiruba was a family member, that he had stuck by me for years and that he too had feelings. My expression formed into a half-hearted face of disgust when the large canine licked me. "Ew, I don't need your slobber." I laughed.

* * *

Training did clear my head a bit. I ran around the village with Shiruba as fast as I was able to, doing my best to get used to the extra weight that I added on only a week before. It was annoying trying to keep my hoodie on as I did so, but I managed to. I still had a dislike for the sun after all and there was no telling if I would abruptly become blind again because I wasn't careful. Whilst I did like to go around with a blindfold, there are times when sight is useful.

The wall that surrounded Konoha was the place that I had decided to rest at with my dear dog. It was a nice, high view that made me feel almost free from my obligations. I had to thank whatever omniscient being had decided to send me here, for allowing me the gift and curse of chakra. I felt peaceful, even though I knew that the guards were glancing at me every so often since it was unusual for a genin to scale the wall surrounding Konoha with their dog and just sit there for two hours. One did come up to me, but they left me be after making sure I wasn't planning on doing anything drastic like defecting from the village.

After that, we had to go and pick up the brats from the academy; something I found only a tad tedious. Although the scents of all the children were around, it was fairly easy to pick out the more familiar ones and so I noticed that it was only Sasuke that seemed to be present today.

The little Uchiha had abruptly slammed into my side, wrapping his arms around my small form tightly. I was bombarded with raven hair in my face as his seemed to be buried in my chest. Bemused, I frowned as I awkwardly placed my hand on his head for a few moments before feeling the need to get him away from me.

My presence around the academy was mostly noticed by the deranged little fangirls that Sasuke had managed to acquire. Fortunately, I seemed to radiate some kind of aura that gave even them a bit of common sense to stay away and not screech at me for being near the Uchiha. Usually, his distressed chakra was caused by them, so I hadn't thought much of it when I felt him approach.

Gently pushing the boy away from me, I placed my hands on his shoulders as he determinedly looked at the ground. "Hello to you too," I blinked dully, "hurry up and tell me what's wrong, I don't have all day."

Those weirdly expressive eyes of his were now in contact with my own, a childish frown marring his little face. "They insulted you." he informed me with the utmost seriousness.

I was not impressed and I felt that my expression clearly expressed that. He winced slightly. I raised an eyebrow as I replied, "Yes, and I don't care."

Apparently that was a bad response since his expression shifted into something more aggressive as he shoved my hands away from his shoulders and stomped his foot as he glared at me. "I care, okay!" he declared. "I don't like how they just go and insult you just because I'm their stupid fascination!"

I blinked again, placing my hands in my pockets in a subtle show of how much I cared about children insulting me. "It's not a big deal. It's not the first or last time someone's insult me."

Sasuke made a sound of frustration as he continued to glare at me. "I don't understand how you just… just brush it off like it's nothing! I got so angry that I actually yelled at them! Kiba would've set Akamaru or something on them if he were there." he huffed and stared at the ground. "I got in trouble…" was the little mumble that left his lips.

I grinned crookedly as I stared down at him. "The thing is, Sasuke, if I was to let every little negative thing said to me get to me; I'm not going to get very far in life. I don't give a shit about a bunch of little shits that have nothing better to do than to ogle a little brat like you and insult the only female besides your mother for being able to get close to you."

The little Uchiha boy looked torn between being offended and pleased at me calling his classmates little shits and insulting him in the same sentence. Deciding to ruffle his hair, I successfully threw him out of his thoughts. "Hey!" he yelled indignantly, attempting to slap my hand away before I removed it.

My thoughts shifted onto the massacre, which I had hoped would work out well. It was still a little disconcerting to know that the only real option to take for the nonviolent resolution of the massacre was to flashily protect them; I mean they had two years to come up with something a little better than that, I had thought. The thought of dobbing on Danzo had also crossed my mind, but I had strongly believed that Hiruzen was too blinded by their supposed friendship for him to really go through with anything. It's not like I really cared about the massacre simply because I didn't want them to die. If it weren't for my parents, for their ties to the main family, I would've continued about my existence without ever revealing my so called seer abilities.

A frown made its way to my face as I stared at the youngest son of the head Uchiha. This shit had somehow carved a place in my small heart, sticking to me like a bloodsucking leech. It was a mistake on my part, I thought, to know how much of a disaster Uchiha Sasuke was and yet still somehow become _attached _to him. But I wasn't going to remain so close to him, not after the whole massacre fiasco. I would break off my ties as he's consumed by the events of his brother and cousin attempting to kill their own clan, then flee.

"Kuroki?"

I blinked, being tossed out of my thoughts as Sasuke called my name and looked up at me with a sense of worry.

"Are you… mad at me?" he asked in a mumble, fidgeting under my stare.

I raised a brow, wondering why I would be mad at him in this very moment. Then I realised I must've shown my irritation of getting close to him somehow and merely scoffed. "No. Where is Kiba, by the way?" I changed the subject, actually curious as to where the little Inuzuka was.

My guess was that he was skipping, which he liked to do from time to time. I couldn't blame him, I would've done the same thing if I had to be confined in a classroom with children for six or seven years.

Sasuke shrugged as he shoved his hands in his pockets and began to frown. Apparently, someone other than the teacher wasn't pleased by Kiba's absence. "Probably skipping, but then again he did tell me that he was doing some clan stuff this week." he informed me.

Nodding, I abruptly grabbed the small boy and placed him upon Shiruba's back. The corner of my lips twitched upwards at the strange noise he emitted.

"I have things to do, so I can't play with you this afternoon." I explained to him, blinking at the scent of disappointment and annoyance. "We'll drop you home." I ignored the mild worry that was tingling in the back of my head at leaving him at the compound, but I wasn't in the mood to bring him to my house.

I already had two other children to deal with, I'd rather not willingly add another one. The twins were also rather aggressive around the little Uchiha, but that may have been my fault since I may or may not have turned them into pseudo attack dogs whenever Sasuke was annoying me.

* * *

After a night of spending time with my little brothers, the next day I was summoned to the Hokage's office and received the supposedly good news. I blinked dully, before I spoke.

"Excuse me if I am mildly skeptical of the fact that your plan to publically protect the Uchiha clan with your guns… with your kunai and pretty jutsu blazing actually succeeded." I commented monotonously, feeling rather exasperated and mildly disappointed by the lack of any real action.

The Hokage's smile was strained as I ignored someone accusing me of having little faith in our beloved Hokage. "Yes, well. Our other methods of keeping the Uchiha clan alive had failed and it was difficult to keep this knowledge out of my council's hands. We should just be thankful that it did work out in the end." he sighed, looking much older and it made him look ancient.

I blinked again. "Just like that?" I asked, tilting my head slightly as I stared at Hiruzen.

"There were a few casualties, I lost a few good shinobi and the Uchiha clan lost a few members, but in the end they retreated after my arrival." he explained softly, sighing once again.

"Huh. So are the Uchiha forever grateful or do we actually have no choice but to kill them?" was my next question, which apparently wasn't the right thing to say with the rising tension, but what were they going to do?

"Hokage-sama and I had a long conversation with Fugaku," Kuroi replied, making me turn to look at him, "we didn't specifically say how you helped, only that you did and that we knew of the coup, etcetera. Was long and I would bore you with the details, Kuroki."

I took a deep breath, holding it for a few seconds before exhaling. Shisui, Itachi and supposedly even Tobi had just retreated… just like that. I wasn't convinced, it shouldn't have been that hard to cut through the few extra shinobi with the three of them working together… unless there was something I'm missing.

Either way, it successfully meant that the massacre had been averted; Fugaku and Mikoto were still alive along with the added bonus of the other Uchihas; I would now put my plan of severing ties with Sasuke into motion; I could now focus on getting promoted to chuunin.

"Right, I'm sure Danzo is pleased." I muttered softly to myself, though my voice seemed to carry since the narrowing in Hiruzen's eyes were a bit unnerving. "You've dealt with him?"

"I will." was the old man's tense reply.

I frowned. "I'd like to impart some important knowledge with my status as a seer; deal with Danzo, so many irritating problems are because of him. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an exam to prepare for."

Konohagakure was hosting this time around.

* * *

The following news had admittedly pissed me off for quite a bit.

As it turned out, I was one of the few Taidana who were actually unable to create ranged jutsu. The technique; 'Raiton: Raiju Tsuiga' was connected to my hand, covered in its sickly colour, but it seemed that all I could produce was the head and its range was only a metre or so. Any attempts to create a jutsu such as hurling a ball of lightning at an opponent that was far away was merely an impossible goal as I, along with Kuroi and Kakashi realised that there was no hope for me to become adept in the ways of ranged jutsu.

After much thought put into why I was unable to do so, it came down to the fact that I simply had too much spiritual chakra. Spirits of the Taidana tended to tip the scale of spiritual and physical chakra of course, but usually it was made up with lots of physical conditioning or if the spirit was pure. I however, already possessed a high amount of spiritual chakra myself even before Jin, which tipped the scale overboard.

I was successfully able to mould my chakra and use it with things I was in contact with, such as my tantos. It was then that we realised that to make up for this dilemma, it was decided that I would work on creating lightning armour and being able to use lightning chakra from any part of my body. It wasn't a bad plan since I was already a close-ranged fighter anyway and it did make me feel better.

A nintaijutsu specialist sounded rather badass in my opinion, like the Fourth Raikage. I also had some thought that the Taidana originated from the Land of Lightning, since there were a few similarities that could allow someone to think our clan was from there. It would've been nice to be tutored by the Fourth Raikage, I thought.

I was still kind of bitter about the knowledge that pure spirits automatically created a balance with the two chakras after a little while, but the rest of those who weren't on their level had to work for it with demonic determination. I believed that the 'pure' would always be tainted after a while, that's just how life was. An innocent child exposed to the taint would become one of the taint in the end.

But I decided to work on my shunshin, because that was honestly terrible. Like, preposterous. I didn't need to use a hand sign, but even if I did use it, it didn't improve in the least so I decided to not use them if they didn't do shit for me. The best I could do was be near the place I wanted to go to, but even then it was like I couldn't stop my body in time so I would smash into things or roll painfully along the ground. Steadily improving and I was damn well determined to getting it fucking mastered.

Those weights of mine didn't help in the least, too. I realised that events were steadily catching up to me, weighing me down as the expectations expected of me were the kind that I wasn't capable of. Those old fucks saw me as a dangerous weapon in the making that needed discipline, they expected me to be malleable to their agendas; the Hokage expected goodness from me, expected me to actually care about the wellbeing of the village… it was causing me some kind of pain as during a training session to help me get used to my weights, I had lost my will to stand and just sat on the ground like some kind of invalid.

I clung onto Shiruba like he was my lifeline, frowning as Kuroi and Kakashi stood over me with bemusement radiating off of them. They glanced at each other as I glared at the dirt, trying to internally deal with my emotions.

"Kuroki, what's wrong?" Kuroi had asked first, squatting down to my level and donning his usual expression with a hint of concern.

I took a few moments to reply, but when I eventually did, my voice felt deader than usual. "One day, dad… you're going to have to kill me." I muttered, voice soft and resigned as shock coursed through the three within my presence. "One day… I'm going to do something the elders won't like, and you or Kakashi will have to kill me. I'm just trying to take some time in accepting that I will do something and the ones whom I love will be the ones who will kill me."

Then I left, to the wall surrounding Konoha and making it my public sanctuary. The guards ignored me as I returned the gesture, the view calmed me somewhat, but I felt a tad melodramatic.

The massacre or lack-there-of must've affected me more than I thought, because there was some serious emotions swelling up within me. I needed silence, so whilst I felt the reassuring presence of Jin, I didn't feel the need to talk.

Perhaps some parted me wished that I had been born a little differently, that deep down I was a good person that my loved ones could know in all my entirety and still love and accept me for me. Then I sighed angrily and bared my teeth as I gripped the railing with pent up frustration. What the hell was wrong with me, I had wondered. All these people kept giving me such a hard time, I really needed to cut down on the amount of people I cared about.

Glancing to the Uchiha compound, I thought of Sasuke, of Itachi as well. I felt my heart constrict, but I tried to ignore it. My job was done concerning the Uchihas. The clan wasn't wiped out, Itachi had Shisui as some kind of good company and Sasuke would move on without me.

The me before the world of Naruto would've laughed at me for how I was feeling, for letting such weaknesses get to me. The me before all this would've killed them off before they could make some kind of damage to me. Some part of me wished I could've done that earlier.

But luckily for me, I was thrown out of my dark and depressive thoughts that irritated me greatly as someone had decided to approach me. I turned to see a boy whom looked the same age as my body, his half-lidded eyes were the colour of mint and they bored into my falsely dark ones. He had lightly tanned skin, with a long scar on his right cheek and a small one on his left that both looked to be recent; his hair was a light blonde, with bangs that leaned to his right and framed his face, the rest of his hair looking unkempt and messy. I took in the rest of his form to see that his clothes consisted of a slightly oversized and light green hoodie with black baggy pants that had the shins wrapped in bandages and tucked into his ninja sandals. I blinked as he placed his hands in the pockets of his pants and tilted his head at me.

Did he scale the wall to simply stare at me, I wondered? His chakra pulsed and I was strangely reminded of mints. Raising an eyebrow, I watched as he moved forward to sit beside me on the railing, acting as though this was a regular occurrence. He was a tad too close, but I had decided not to inch away. I was intrigued.

He glanced at me and I saw the corner of his lip twitch upwards. I then noticed the metal part of Konoha's hitai-ate attached to his hoodie, and I vaguely wondered why he decided to do that.

As we seemed to take in each other's presence, I realised that we hadn't even exchanged a word and I felt as though we didn't need to. It worried me how I felt comfortable in this strange boy's presence, and Jin growled lowly in response. I hushed the spirit and decided to go along with it, taking a deep breath and exhaling.

Strangely enough, the kid managed to calm my rampant thoughts like how Jin could and it was such a fascinating fact that I smiled. The boy turned to see my expression, his eyes filled with… some kind of fondness that bemused me even further. I had never met him before, had I?

We sat together on the top of Konoha's walls for an hour in weirdly companionable silence before I decided that I had cooled off enough. With a smile, wave and an unspoken thanks, I scaled back down the wall to resume my training.

My goal was to protect my family and to have fun with murdering people. How was I going to do that if I was going to wallow in needless emotional problems? It's never been my style.

I wasn't sure how my future would pan out from then on, but I thought that I'd be damned if I let shitty old fucks and irritating duck-butt children hold me back.

I later realised that I was already damned.

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke found his life thrown into chaos when he found out that his very own older brother along with his cousin had gone and tried to kill their own clan. He became the new heir of the clan, without a moment to let the whole situation sink in. His mother tried to console him and his father tried to prepare him.

His entire life had shattered and it was all his brother's fault… the brother whom he worshipped, whom he looked up to and whom he wanted to be exactly like. Why did he do it? Why did he want to destroy the clan?

When he first learned of the event, he had denied it with all his might. There was no way his nii-chan would do that, right? The distress of realising that everything he heard was true was such a despairing moment that the abundance of emotions he felt had awakened his clan's famous Sharingan, but there was no joy from him. There was no whoop of excitement, no running to someone whom he looked up to and bragging about his accomplishment. There was only wails and streams of tears.

Everyone around him knew how much of an impact the failed massacre had caused him, they only offered their condolences as they had to accept that the only expressions they would get from the new heir were blank faces and expressions of irritation.

He embodied the look of the Uchiha well, he trained as they wanted their future clan head to, he became their empty puppet as the innocent child had become hollow. Even though Sasuke got what he wanted for such a long time, with his father paying attention to him and taking him seriously, not comparing him to his great older brother… it was ironic that he couldn't feel the happiness that should've been there.

The other kids in his class came to learn that the Uchiha had become even more of a recluse in the academy, the only ones whom he allowed to hang around him were Kiba and Naruto. Both were the most loud and active of their peers, but they could rarely get anything out of the stone-faced boy. The two had somehow managed to become his closest friends, even though he felt he was basically the polar opposite of the two. He appreciated that they cared, that even though he barely said a thing, they stuck to him like glue even if that was kind of annoying sometimes.

It just felt as though the world had dulled and he just couldn't see the colour in it anymore.

Sasuke tried, so many times to find Kuroki, who was the only other person he felt was like an elder sibling. She wouldn't treat him like some untouchable prince or coddle him with his clan's events, but no matter how many times he went to her house to find her room locked, no matter how many time he waited in anticipation for the entire Taidana family to attend the main Uchiha family's regular dinners, she was nowhere to be found.

Even Kiba had seen her more than he had, and the intense jealousy he felt was almost overwhelming. The Inuzuka already had an older sibling that didn't abandon him, he didn't need another one.

His heart ached as he realised just how much he missed that weirdo's presence. Kuroki didn't abandon her family and her village, but it felt like she had definitely abandoned him. Why did everyone abandon him?! Why did the people whom he looked up to the most be the ones who abandon him like trash?!

Sometimes, when he thought like that, his expression would change and he would hit the training dummies with pent up anger and sorrow, or he would shamefully hide in his room and cry. He understood why Uchihas hated showing emotions, because it was weakness.

But… he couldn't give up. The Uchiha heir wanted to know why his brother and cousin would do what they did, he wanted to know why Kuroki was avoiding him and he would find them. He would get his answers.

Sasuke would find Kuroki and he would make sure that she would never be able to abandon him, because she was still within his reach, she was still in the village and eventually they would cross paths. Because he knew that Kuroki cared, even if she didn't want to. He would become stronger so that he can keep up with her and not leave him behind, then he would find his brother and demand some answers.

And for the first time in months as Fugaku watched his son train, his eyebrows rose as he saw a small smile appear on the young Uchiha's usually blank face.

Sasuke would be damned if he let Kuroki leave him behind, and he would be damned if his brother thought that he wouldn't find him.

That was his goal.

* * *

**OMAKE**

"Dude, she's fucking flexible as shit!" Kuroki exclaimed with astonishment as she sat on the couch with Kakashi, leaning on him as she read over his shoulder; a certain book in his hands.

The silver-haired nin nodded sagely as he turned the page. "Yes, she's a beautiful, flexible goddess." he crooned softly, before realising that he was currently reading porn with his best friend's eleven-year-old daughter. His face paled as Kuroki grabbed the page and turned it, looking as invested as he would be if he didn't realise the absurdity of the situation.

A snort escaped the demonic preadolescent as she read the male main character's line. "That has got to be some of the corniest shit I have ever read, what the fuck? What kind of standards do these chicks have?" she scoffed, snickering.

It was just the two of them since everyone was currently out and doing something most likely productive, but Kakashi tended to forget that his semi-student was a child. "Say, maybe we shouldn't be reading this…" he suggested with a slight chuckle, before stopping at the dead expression on the young girl's face.

Her irises were currently without the brown eye contacts, so he had the displeasure of receiving the uncomfortably dead and colourful sight that simply screamed that she was unimpressed.

"We're halfway through the book." she deadpanned, causing him to shift his eyes onto his book and realise that, yes, they actually were halfway through the book. How did that happen, he wondered?

"… So we are." Kakashi agreed, wondering what the hell was happening to his life.

"Besides, it's not like I'm innocent to the ways of sex." the girl waved her hand dismissively, smirking when the older ninja's eyes widened in shock and horror. "Surprised? Don't worry, this body still has its virginity intact." she laughed as he visibly showed his relief with a sigh.

"I swear you make me feel like I'm the young genin sometimes," the jounin muttered under his breath as he flipped the page of his book.

Kuroki chuckled as a thought popped into her mind. "Does that mean you'd treat me like a woman and not a child?" she asked with a playful tone, a mischievous grin upon her lips as Kakashi tried not to sputter in an undignified way.

The young Taidana laughed carelessly, laying back onto the arm rest of the couch and crossing her legs.

Kakashi glared half-heartedly at her before his mostly-concealed face donned a pleasant expression. "I would, actually." he replied, and he found that he spoke the truth with those words. He treated her more like someone his age unintentionally most of the time, anyway.

Her eyes widened at the response, but then a toothy grin replaced her surprise. Her teeth seemed to be getting sharper as of late, the copy-nin thought absentmindedly.

"I didn't know your age range was so large." she commented, stretching like a cat and closing her eyes as she relaxed.

"It's not," Kakashi sighed forlornly, closing his precious book and placing a hand on his chest in a dramatic display, "you're the exception." he finished with a mock seducing tone and a wink.

"Pfft, do you get all your lines from that book? Because you're better off using them on girls who have no standards." Kuroki retorted, her grin wide and making her look more like her age, but considering what they were talking about, it caused Kakashi to shiver slightly at the disturbing prospect.

He sighed and leaned back, running a hand down his face. This was his life now, hanging around a precocious young girl that treated him like he was seven, reading porn with her and then proceeding to have a conversation where he mockingly hits on said young girl.

A slight smile formed on his masked lips, it wasn't too bad, he guessed. The Taidana family filled the void in his heart, even if their daughter was violent, creepy and disturbing in many ways.

She had her good points, even if the girl herself didn't know.

* * *

**A/N: **Alright, so my reasoning for being about three months late is that my inspiration is going fucking everywhere. I recently created a new Harry Potter fanfiction, with only the first chapter out but it's new territory. Would love if you guys checked that out and tell me your thoughts as well, hahaha.

Also, I'm currently working on an original story and it's been taking up a lot of my time. Lots of world building going on with that story, and it's got the challenge of actually putting myself as the main character along with romance. Hard shit, I'm telling you.

I'll do my best to continue this story since I've put too much time into this story to give up on it now, so even if I don't update for ages, I will come back to this. Just remind me every now and then too, ha. This chapter was kind of hard to get back into, but I managed.

Reviews are love. Reviews are life. It's never ogre.


	7. AUTHOR'S NOTE! DISCONTINUED!

Hello, my wonderful readers. I hope you all have had a somewhat good experience in the time that I've been inactive from this story. I apologise for possibly disappointing your hopes at a new chapter for this story, and I apologise even more for what I'm about to say.

I will not be continuing with the current Black Demon of the Leaf that you've all favourited and followed. It's been eating at me for a while, because I hate to do this when I've already done it about two to three times, but I realised that I shouldn't prolong it anymore and let you all know.

I truly appreciate the support this story and all my other stories have received.

I know it sounds like I'm leaving forever, but really what I intend to do is rewrite Black Demon of the Leaf; entirely. As in plot changes, character changes and whatever else; not just a revision of what I already had. I have this constant need to improve my stories. It started with 'I'm a What?' which was basically wish fulfilment and an escape to the reality of depression that I was going through at that time. Then we got to Black Demon of the Leaf, then we revised that and now I want to actually rewrite it once more.

I want this story to be better, even though I know you guys already enjoy what's here at the moment... I know I can do better. This is selfish of me, I know that. I wanted to tell you guys for a while now, trying to figure out when and how I would tell you guys because I've already decided to rewrite it and the current version wouldn't get anymore updates.

You've supported me, with my horrible update schedule, fickle inspiration and constant need to revamp things. I hope that you guys could maybe continue to support it, but I understand if not.

Once again, I apologise. I can't continue the current version of Black Demon of the Leaf, because I didn't like the direction and many other aspects within it. My lovely beta, Senior Coq-On-Face the Third has been wonderful and always helps me improve the quality of my stories, even though he constantly gets confused with the stories, characters, etc. He has helped me create a better plot for the new story, because we've absolutely ripped apart the plot of Naruto and various other things within Naruto, which have driven us insane and made us want to fix that in the rewritten version.

**Edit: 26/02/2016 About 3:42 AM **

Things have seriously changed, it's not even funny. I have had nearly two breakdowns, but I have got something! I believe. Hopefully. So, what the **current **rewritten version will possess is:

1\. Everything is Alternate Reality/Universe without turning into a high-school story. Things like; no tailed beasts, no Eye of the fucking Moon plan, no Asura is the only successor which leads to a lifetime of bullshit, etc.

2\. Kuroki is a storyteller. A fucked up storyteller. You will understand in time.

3\. Everything will be written in third-person POVs. There's just this feeling with first-person POVs that I have grown to mostly dislike.

4\. The POVs will be from characters who interact with Kuroki, rather than Kuroki herself. (Mostly, we'll see.)

5\. The Taidana will be a functioning clan. A weird clan, but expected of people with spirits and shit.

6\. It begins within the era of the Warring States Period. At the moment. Expect to see a few notable characters.

7\. Lots of symbolism, bruh.

So far, that is all I have before I begin to spoil tonnes of shit. I tend to drift from idea to idea, so it's not actually solid but I'm fucking hoping so. We'll see. My beta and I have been changing so much shit to satisfy our wishes to correct so many fucking inconsistencies and blatant bullshit that resides within the Narutoverse. Fan of the concept? We are. Everything else? Not so much. But I have invested too much of my time to this to give up now. I will do it damn it.

Also, if anyone is interested in keeping up with my progress... I don't know, should I make a facebook page or some shit? I generally tend to avoid tumblr, so I have no account and I don't plan on making one like ever. If you're interested, PM me or some shit because I do actually enjoy interacting with all of you. It also might let you know that I haven't just disappeared and made you worry that the rewrite will never exist.

Which, by the way, I have decided to not upload until I have preferably finished writing all of it. Save us all from me going back and editing shit, then getting rid of chapters and whatnot. Like all my other stories that are currently on this site. This means I'm getting serious. Or trying.

Okay, enough. I'm still alive, thank you for your patience, your support, basically everything. Later, bruh.

**Reviews are love. Reviews are life. It's never ogre. Green is not a creative colour. **


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